Greenbelt, Md. – On Jan. 29, United States District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Demetrius Murray, 23, of Silver Spring to 21 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for Production of Child Pornography. Judge Hazel also ordered forfeiture of electronic devices seized from Murray and used by Murray to produce and store child pornography. Murray is also required to register as a sex offender.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Andre R. Watson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Sheriff Terry Thompson of the Weber County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office.
According to his plea agreement, Murray contacted an eleven-year-old boy in Utah, Victim A, through Xbox Live and then through a private chat on KIK, an internet-based chat service. Murray and Victim A at some point switched to Skype, an internet-based chat and video streaming service. Murray streamed pictures of himself masturbating to the boy over Skype. Victim A created a video of himself masturbating, which depicted child pornography, and sent the video to Murray as part of a text message. Murray, after receiving the video, converted it into six still-frame pictures and sent the pictures back to Victim A. Victim A’s mother learned of Murray’s interaction with her son and reported Murray’s conduct to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”).
As a result of the NCMEC Cybertip, HSI agents and officers from the Montgomery County Police Department executed a search warrant at Murray’s home in January 2016. Agents recovered more than 600 images and more than 400 videos depicting minors, the vast majority of which depicted child pornography.
Forensic examination of Murray’s iPhone seized during the search showed that in May and June 2015, Murray had engaged in text messaging with a boy, Victim B, who lived in Alabama. Victim B told Murray that he was 14 years old. Nevertheless, Murray requested that Victim B send pictures of his body and pictures of himself masturbating. Victim B sent the requested pictures. When Murray learned that Victim B had a four-year-old relative, Victim C, Murray requested that Victim B send pictures of Victim C performing oral sex on Victim B. Victim B sent the pictures, which depicted child pornography.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning praised HSI, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Weber County Utah Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin, who prosecuted the case.