Child Pornography

A Windsor Mill man pleaded guilty yesterday to distributing child pornography, said the Maryland U.S. attorney's office. Steven Kruger, 63, met an officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl on the Internet. He sent pictures of himself and pornographic photos, and he wrote about meeting her, according to Rod J. Rosenstein's office. Search warrants were executed, and officers found an e-mail in which Kruger attached photos documenting child sexual abuse. Kruger admitted sending child pornography, authorities said.

A 48-year-old convicted sex offender pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of second-degree sex offense for sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy he met while walking his dogs in his neighborhood. Robert Paul Layton of Dundalk admitted having sexual contact with the boy and buying food, candy and alcohol for him and several others, prosecutors said. Police said that Layton initiated conversations with teenagers while walking his dogs and then attempted to lure them to his home with the promise of drugs, food and the opportunity to play pool.

A former Baltimore County gymnastics teacher pleaded guilty yesterday in what federal prosecutors called one of Maryland's largest child pornography cases. Patrick David Bogan, 41, an Edgewood resident who worked with children at a White Marsh gymnastics center, could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after admitting to acquiring child pornography through the mail and over the Internet. Authorities were led to Bogan after he accessed an Internet file linked from an FBI-controlled computer while perusing a bulletin board that contained child pornography.

A physician from Arbutus was ordered yesterday to spend a year and a day in federal prison after he was found with pornographic images of children. Michael Sapko, 31, pleaded guilty in November to possession of child pornography. He could have received up to 30 months in prison from U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake. According to the plea agreement, an undercover Greensburg, Pa., police officer posed online as a 30-year-old female and contacted Sapko in May 2004. In online conversations, Sapko discussed how he had accumulated a personal collection of child pornography from the Internet, prosecutors said.

A former Baltimore County gymnastics coach who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison yesterday in a case prosecutors have called one of Maryland's largest because of the volume of materials possessed by the defendant. Patrick David Bogan will also be required to be on supervised probation upon his release and to register as a sex offender. He will be prohibited from seeking employment that puts him in regular contact with children younger than 18. U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson denied a request by prosecutors to require Bogan to be on supervised release for life.

An Edgewood man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to receiving child pornography, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Federal prosecutors said that Matthew Justin Perry, 28, had responded to an Internet advertisement in 2005 that was posted to computer newsgroups by an undercover U.S. postal inspector. Perry indicated he was interested in buying videos of child pornography and sent payment for videos to an Ohio post office box, prosecutors said. After Perry signed for the package of videotapes delivered to his home, law enforcement officials searched his home and computer, finding more than 2,000 image of child pornography.

A New York City computer programmer who used the Internet to solicit sex from what he thought was a Columbia teen-ager pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to charges of child pornography and sex solicitation with a minor.Michael Perry, 47, of Manhattan was arrested in September after an FBI agent -- posing as a 14-year-old named "Amy" with the screen name "Ami13f" -- tracked him for several weeks on the Internet service provider America Online.In several conversations, Perry was sexually explicit, e-mailed pictures of children having sex and tried to meet the girl in Columbia, evidence showed.

A third-grade teacher at Logan Elementary School in Dundalk entered an Alford plea yesterday to child abuse involving three of his former female pupils and resigned from his job.Stephen Douglas Vaught, 35, of the 8500 block of Harris Ave. in Parkville was charged with three counts of child abuse in December after three 9-year-old girls in his class told police he had inappropriately touched them. In front of Baltimore County Circuit Judge Alexander Wright, Vaught entered an Alford plea to one count of child abuse, which means he declined to admit guilt but conceded prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him."

A 52-year-old Annapolis man was charged with possessing child pornography yesterday in a federal indictment that culminated an FBI online sting operation investigating sex crimes against children.The case against Jeffrey D. Hooper of the 1800 block of Manor Green Court was based on an undercover federal agent's Internet conversations with him, and the seizure of an extensive collection of child pornography videotapes and computer images from Hooper's home last month, according to court records.

A Harford County couple has been charged with child pornography crimes after a six-month investigation that stretched from Florida to Maryland linked them to Internet child pornography, state police said yesterday.Juli C. Wyatt, 28, and Robert J. Wyatt, 30, of the 200 block of Oak Leaf Circle in Abingdon face 12 charges each of creating, possessing and transmitting computer images of children engaged in obscene sexual acts, state police said. The pair also were charged with possession of child pornography and of a machine gun.The case began in Florida in May when an unidentified person called up a Web site for alternative lifestyles, said Detective Sgt. Barry E. Leese of the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit.

Canadian and American investigators hunting for the producers of child pornography zeroed in on seemingly trivial details - a Yuengling Black & Tan beer can and an unusual pair of eyeglasses - to solve the case. On Friday, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced an Annapolis man, Joseph Vieson III, to 45 years in prison for charges related to sexually exploiting a minor and producing child pornography. Vieson, 43, was also ordered to pay $30,403 in restitution to the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

Appeal of sentence is denied A Columbia man who was sent to prison for 60 years after being convicted in 2004 of second-degree murder and physically abusing his then-2-year-old stepson was denied an appeal to have his sentence reduced. Marcus Owens, then 33, was found guilty in June 2004 of killing Kevonte Davis and received the maximum sentence - 30 years for murder and 30 for abuse leading to the child's death - from Howard County Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure, who also presided over the reconsideration hearing.

Woman fatally stabbed; shooting also probed The body of a woman who had been stabbed several times was found near the intersection of Sinclair Lane and North Chester Street in Baltimore's South Clifton Park neighborhood early Friday, according to city police. The woman, whose identity was unknown, was discovered about 1:15 a.m. She was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to police. Separately, a man was shot several times about 1:28 a.m. in the 1100 block of E. 25th St., police said.

Pasadena man charged In child porn distribution A Pasadena man was charged Thursday with possessing and distributing child pornography, according to Maryland State Police. Kevin Scott Ferguson, 30, of the 8000 block of Corkberry Lane surrendered to a state police computer crimes unit investigator. Police said a trooper assigned to the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force traced a computer on a peer-to-peer network offering pornographic videos of children to Ferguson, and investigators executed a search warrant, confiscating computers, hard drives and other storage media from Ferguson's home.

Two Howard men indicted in attempted-murder cases Grand jury indictments for attempted murder have been handed down in two separate cases in Howard County. Donald Joseph Scallio of Elkridge is accused of attempted murder in an attack on his former girlfriend at their residence in the 6000 block of Old Washington Blvd. Joel Christian Fowler, 28, of Laurel, is accused of attempted murder in a baseball bat attack on his aunt and uncle in their Laurel home. - Don Markus Essex man held on child pornography charges Prosecutors say an Essex man accused of posing online as a lesbian stricken with cancer to entice teenage girls into relationships has been indicted on child pornography charges.

As kids across the country get ready for that fall ritual of heading back to classes, swine flu isn't the only thing that school officials have to worry will go viral this academic year. The teen phenomenon of sexting - minors' texting or e-mailing sexually explicit photographs of themselves to each other - threatens to become even more widespread despite the severe, if not draconian, consequences. Some administrators hope to curb the behavior before it gets worse. When middle and high schoolers in Broward County, Fla., return to class this fall, they'll see a video about sexting and the felony charges that accompany the activity.

A Middle River couple were charged with distributing and promoting child pornography after both were identified in videos participating in the sexual abuse of children, Baltimore County police said Monday. John Nicklas, 34, and Shannon Leigh Honea, 26, of the 9700 block of Conmar Road, were arrested Thursday and charged with filming, distributing and promoting child pornography. Police said there were several unidentified victims, ranging in age from about 2 to 13, and are asking for the public's help in finding those children and any others who may have been abused or exploited.

Four shootings leave two dead, two wounded Baltimore police were investigating four shootings, two of them fatal. About 3 p.m. Monday, Antwon Witherspoon, 28, of the 2500 block of N. Charles St., was shot to death while standing in an alley off the 2900 block of The Alameda. About 7:15 p.m. Monday, officers were called to the 4000 block of Old York Road at Dumbarton Avenue for a reported shooting. They found John Woodies, 38, of the 700 block of Grantley St., lying on a basketball court with wounds to the chest, police said.

Man critically injured in Carroll home invasion A man was critically injured early Thursday in a Carroll County home invasion, Maryland State Police said. The incident happened in the 2600 block of Liberty Road in New Windsor about 4:30 a.m., police spokeswoman Elena Russo said. State police believe this was not a random crime, she said. Russo said three men entered the residence and ordered two men believed to be tenants to the first floor. One victim suffered what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head; the other victim escaped and called 911 from a neighbor's home, police said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, seeking to highlight his administration's public safety efforts, agreed Tuesday to crack down on repeat drunken drivers, to catch speeders through automated cameras and to expand judges' power to take guns from domestic abusers. The Democratic governor also signed into law a measure strengthening penalties for the possession of child pornography - a measure that critics worry could ensnare teenagers increasingly engaged in the practice of "sexting," or sharing nude images via cell-phone message.