Thomas Leroy Griffin, formerly of Hagerstown and Rosedale, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday to charges he sexually abused a child to produce child pornography.
Griffin, 32, began committing the abuses against his victim when she was 5 or 6 years old, according to the plea agreement, engaging in sexually explicit conduct with the child in order to produce visual depictions on at least five occasions. The victim's mother discovered a videotape documenting the abuse last December.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland, Griffin and the government have agreed that if the court accepts the plea agreement, he'll be sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He'll also have to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works or enrolls as a student.
Griffin has also agreed to plead guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, a charge pending against him in Washington County Circuit Court, the statement said. The Washington County State's Attorney's Office will recommend a 30-year sentence to be served concurrently with his federal sentence.
A U.S. District Judge has scheduled the sentencing for Jan. 20, 2012. Griffin remains in detention.
