Steven Christopher Kelban, a 50-year-old resident of Catonsville, Maryland, has entered a guilty plea for possession of child pornography. This development follows his identification as a suspect in the trafficking of child sexual abuse material during an online investigation conducted by the Baltimore County Police Department on the BitTorrent network.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes, with support from Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office, Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger, and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department.
Kelban's criminal history includes two prior convictions related to child pornography: one in 2015 for possession of obscene matter involving persons under 17 in Shelby County, Alabama, and another in 2016 for distribution of child pornography in Baltimore County, Maryland.
According to court documents, after being released from imprisonment in Alabama on November 20, 2023, Kelban returned to Maryland and registered as a sex offender on November 21 at an address in Baltimore County. A week later, police investigations linked his IP address to a torrent containing over 2000 files including suspected child pornography. Investigators were able to directly download these files from Kelban's residence.
Kelban is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and could serve up to twenty years followed by lifetime supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett on July 8, 2025.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The initiative involves collaboration between federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims.
U.S. Attorney Hayes acknowledged the efforts of the FBI and BCPD in this investigation and expressed gratitude towards Assistant U.S. Attorney Reema Sood who is prosecuting this case.
Further information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc while details regarding internet safety education are available under the “Resources” tab on their website.
