Marcus Jerome Hunt, a 32-year-old resident of Temple Hills, Maryland, has pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of transporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Hunt was previously registered as a sex offender.
According to U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland, law enforcement began investigating Hunt after receiving two CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on December 1, 2020. The tips originated from Dropbox, Inc., which reported that three CSAM video files were uploaded on November 1, 2020. The account involved used the username “Marcus Hunt” and an email address containing his name. The associated Google account was deleted before authorities received the tips. Dropbox subsequently disabled the account.
A search warrant executed for the Dropbox account revealed a total of 40 videos, with about half determined by law enforcement to depict CSAM. Investigators traced the IP address linked to the uploads back to Hunt’s residence in Temple Hills.
On January 21, 2021, police searched Hunt’s home and seized several electronic devices including cell phones, tablets, USB drives, SD cards, and a gaming PC. The gaming computer contained a shortcut to access The Onion Router (Tor) network browser; one phone had been factory reset and a USB drive reformatted. Keyword searches for "Dropbox" and related email addresses found matching artifacts on other seized devices.
During questioning by authorities, Hunt acknowledged owning a Dropbox account but denied knowledge of the specific email address tied to it.
Hunt faces up to five years in federal prison for each count against him. Sentencing is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman on April 29 at 10 a.m.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood—a Department of Justice initiative started in May 2006—to combat child sexual exploitation through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies nationwide. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Additionally, Know2Protect is an awareness campaign led by the Department of Homeland Security that aims to inform children and adults about preventing online child sexual exploitation and how victims can report such incidents or seek support resources via https://www.dhs.gov/know2protect.
U.S. Attorney Hayes expressed appreciation for the work conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland and Maryland State Police during this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan S. McKoy and Joel Crespo are prosecuting this case.
Further details about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office are available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-md.
