Baltimore, Maryland - Piere Ceradoy, age 37, of Crofton, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to coercion and enticement of a minor.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; and Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to his plea agreement, between February 2016 and April 2017, Ceradoy repeatedly enticed a minor female to take photographs and stream live videos of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct and send those images and videos to Ceradoy using a mobile phone and the internet. During the course of the exploitation of the victim, Ceradoy frequently threatened to expose the victim by disseminating the explicit files, and regularly threatened to kill the victim and her family. Ceradoy also sent images and videos of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct to the victim. The victim was 13 years old.
Ceradoy engaged in this conduct after two convictions in 2014 relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and abusive sexual conduct involving a minor. During this time, he was on parole for a sex offense conviction in the state of Washington, and was registered as a sex offender.
Ceradoy and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the parties’ plea agreement Ceradoy will be sentenced to 25 years in prison and will be placed on supervised release for life. United States District Judge Marvin J. Garbis has scheduled sentencing for May 25, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Ceradoy remains detained pending sentencing.
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.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning praised HSI Baltimore, the Maryland State Police and the Franklinton, North Carolina Police Department, for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow who is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
