ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Davidsonville man was sentenced Monday to more than 10 years in prison after an Anne Arundel County jury convicted him on seven counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.
Christopher Willard Clendenin, 38, was sentenced Aug. 24, 2026, by Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Sidney Butcher to 35 years in prison, with all but 10 1/2 years suspended.
Upon his release, Clendenin must serve five years of supervised probation, participate in the COMET program and register as a Tier I sex offender for 15 years. He received credit for 97 days already served.
A jury found Clendenin guilty May 28 on seven counts of possession of child pornography following a trial before Butcher. After the verdict, Butcher revoked Clendenin’s bond and ordered him held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center pending sentencing.
State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said the case involved child sexual abuse material depicting very young children, including material identified with assistance from authorities in Australia and the United Kingdom.
“The possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material further revictimizes our most vulnerable, and behind the images is a story of abuse and trauma,” Leitess said.
Prosecutors reported that one video possessed by Clendenin depicted a girl younger than 4 being sexually abused by an adult. A separate image identified with assistance from the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency depicted a 4-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by an adult man.
The investigation began April 26, 2023, when detectives with the Anne Arundel County Police Department received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving suspected child sexual abuse material uploaded to Reddit.
The tip included a suspect name and IP address that investigators traced to Clendenin.
Detectives obtained a search warrant May 8, 2023, for Reddit and Google Gmail accounts connected to the investigation. Judge Christine Celeste approved the warrant.
Google later provided account data that investigators linked to Clendenin. Detectives reported finding still images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material in Gmail folders associated with the account.
Members of the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit served a residential search warrant Aug. 24, 2023. Clendenin was at the residence when investigators arrived.
Authorities seized evidence and conducted a brief interview. When asked whether he recognized the Gmail account under investigation, Clendenin reportedly responded, “Yeah, that’s a couple emails back.”
Leitess said Clendenin had failed to take responsibility for his actions or acknowledge the harm caused by the material.
“The Court’s guidelines sentence delivers significant prison time and sex offender monitoring after release to protect the community and ensure the defendant’s compliance,” Leitess said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorneys Anastasia T. Prigge and Sean Fox. Detective Jonathan Bruce of the Anne Arundel County Police Department led the investigation.
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