Baltimore, Maryland - On Oct. 3, 2017, Eric Nathaniel Sammons, age 25, of Trappe, Maryland, pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police William M. Pallozzi and Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office.
According to his plea agreement, between 2014 and 2016, Sammons sexually exploited four minors and produced images of the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, Sammons maintained a collection of child pornography on his digital devices.
Prior to May 25, 2016, Sammons set up a hidden camera in the bathroom of a twelve-year-old male victim and recorded a series of 47 videos.
On approximately October 6, 2015, Sammons took a series of 32 photographs of Jane Doe 1, including images that depicted the child partially naked and in various poses.
From approximately May 26, 2016 through September 2016, Sammons was living in the detached garage to a residence in Caroline County. During this time he snuck into the bedroom of two female victims, ages 3 and 5, and produced 11 pornographic images of Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3 engaged in sexually explicit conduct while they slept.
Sammons’ digital devices were forensically examined. Investigators found images and videos of child pornography on the devices, and determined that his mobile phone, the digital camera and the video camera were used to produce the child pornography. The devices contained the images Sammons produced of the victims as well as an additional 6 videos and over 3000 images of child pornography.
Sammons faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11, 2018 at 3 p.m.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended Homeland Security Investigations, the Talbot County Narcotics Task Force, Maryland State Police, and the States Attorney’s Office and Child Protective Service of Caroline and Talbot Counties for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorney Paul Budlow, who is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
