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Former Maryland State Government Official Pleads Guilty to the Distribution of Child Pornography
justice.gov ^ | March 9, 2021 | U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Maryland

Posted on 03/11/2021 12:58:36 AM PST by ransomnote

Baltimore, Maryland - Mathew Palmer, age 44, of Severna Park, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to the distribution of child pornography.  At the time of the conduct, Palmer held positions with the Maryland state government, including as Deputy Legislative Officer for the Maryland Governor’s Office and Chief Operating Officer with the Maryland Department of Commerce.

The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

“The exploitation of children is a serious threat and problem that has grown over the course of the pandemic,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lenzner.  “Individuals like Palmer who trade and possess this illegal material online are essentially facilitating an underground criminal market.  This case should serve as a reminder that law enforcement will pursue anyone who endangers children, and that no one is above the law.”

“No crime affects us more deeply than the sexual abuse of innocent children. Those who trade exploitative material participate in and perpetuate that abuse,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge James Mancuso. “HSI will utilize all available resources and authorities to investigate and seek prosecution of those who harm and exploit children.”

According to his plea agreement, investigators at HSI received reports from an instant messenger application advising that multiple accounts using similar usernames, that all included “anonjohnny” as part of the name, had uploaded at least one image of child pornography or child-sensitive material between April 2019 and September 2019.  Each time the application detected the child exploitative material, it shut down the offending account.

Investigation revealed that the same Internet Protocol address (IP address) was used to access the five “anonjohnny” accounts and was serviced by the same cellular service provider registered under Palmer’s  phone number, e-mail address, and home address in Severna Park, Maryland.   The records showed that the messaging application account had also been accessed by IP addresses that resolved to the State of Maryland, demonstrating that the user was accessing the materials from state government Internet services.

On August 11, 2020, investigators executed a search warrant at Palmer’s residence in Severna Park and seized several electronic devices, including Palmer’s laptop and personal cell phone.  Palmer’s cell phone was also linked to his office e-mail address.   Palmer’s phone was logged into a new “anonjohnny” account on the instant messaging application.  Palmer admitted that he used this account to engage in chats with several other users concerning child exploitation.

For example, in a conversation with one user, in his very first message Palmer said, “Hi I have naughty thoughts about my teen daughters.”  Palmer then sent the user images of two minor girls whom Palmer represented were his daughters.  In fact, these minor children were not Palmer’s children.  In a conversation with a second user, Palmer stated that his preference was for children aged eight and up.  Palmer again sent pictures of two minor girls, falsely representing to the second user that they were his own daughters.

At least 936 images and 368 videos of child pornography were found on Palmer's cell phone, including prepubescent minors; child pornography involving toddlers; and child pornography involving bondage and other sadistic acts.

In addition to possessing hundreds of images and videos constituting child pornography, Palmer admitted that he both received and distributed child pornography.  Palmer had an application on his phone which is used to send covert and encrypted messages.  Palmer possessed two additional videos of child pornography on that application, and the evidence showed that Palmer used that application to distribute a video of child pornography to a chat group of 58 people.  Palmer's phone also included several links under the “notes” section to active child pornographic websites. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, Palmer will be required to register as a sex offender where he resides, is an employee, and is a student pursuant to the sex offender registration and nonfiction act (SORNA).

Palmer faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of twenty years in prison for distribution of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has not yet scheduled sentencing.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.         

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended HSI and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Acting U.S. Attorney Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Loveland, Jr., who is prosecuting the federal case.

# # #

Topic(s): 
Project Safe Childhood
Component(s): 
Contact: 
Marcia Murphy (410) 209-4854


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS:
He was well placed in the Governor's office. The Governor isn't too popular right now - having a perv in his office doesn't boost the profile.

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/08/26/josh-kurtz-whos-minding-the-store/

1 posted on 03/11/2021 12:58:36 AM PST by ransomnote
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To: ransomnote

WTF is going on in the world lately? Do you have to be a pedophile to work in govt these days?


2 posted on 03/11/2021 3:20:24 AM PST by Prince of Space (Irish lives matter!)
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To: Prince of Space
Many years ago there was a new member here with a real unusual screen name. So I decided to google it and lo and behold I found him participating on a chat site promoting incest using the same screen name. He was offering to exchange photos with the other perverts there.

So I posted the link to him and he disappeared from this site.......

3 posted on 03/11/2021 3:35:14 AM PST by Hot Tabasco
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To: All
Mathew Palmer, age 44, of Severna Park, Maryland, pled guilty to the distribution of child pornography. At the time he was engaged in child porn, Palmer held top level positions with Maryland state govt, including Deputy Legislative Officer for the Maryland Governor’s Office and Chief Operating Officer with the Maryland Dept of Commerce.

The SOB fled when they found out what he was doing.

They should triple his sentence (IF he gets one) if he did this with tax dollars.

4 posted on 03/11/2021 3:49:55 AM PST by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use. )
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To: ransomnote

When you hire gays, you get the ‘baggage’ that goes with them.

...and that is something RINOs (in this case Governor Hogan) somehow NEVER are able to figure out.


5 posted on 03/11/2021 4:09:17 AM PST by BobL (TheDonald.win is now Patriots.win)
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To: Prince of Space

It really is mind boggling. The Podesta brothers have child porn (disguised as ‘fine art’) hanging all over their walls in their homes. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS and yet....nothing. I think our country is a goner. I pray not, but this crap has infiltrated so deeply, I just don’t know....


6 posted on 03/11/2021 4:33:52 AM PST by Pigsley
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To: ransomnote

Typical for this cesspool of a state.


7 posted on 03/11/2021 5:46:38 AM PST by cyclotic (Live your life in such a way that they hate you as much as they hated Rush Limbaugh)
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