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Date: 01-03-2023
Case Style:
United States of America v. Dennis James Harrison
Case Number: 1:22-cr-00037
Judge: James K. Bredar
Court: United States District Court for the District of Maryland (Baltimore County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Baltimore, Maryland criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with sexual exploitation of children to produce child pornography related to the sexual exploitation of two minors who were between the ages of 10 and 12 at the time of the abuse.
According to his guilty plea, between 2018 and 2021, Dennis James Harrison, age 40, of Rocky Ridge, Maryland, sexually exploited two minor girls beginning when the one victim was twelve years old and when the other victim was 10 to 11 years old, to produce child pornography. Specifically, from at least September 2020 through August 2021, Harrison engaged in sexual activity with Jane Doe 1, a 12-year-old girl who resided in Pennsylvania. Harrison picked-up Jane Doe 1 from her residence and drove her to various locations in Maryland, including Harrison’s residence, where he engaged in illegal sexual activity with Jane Doe 1. The defendant produced images and videos of his sexual abuse of Jane Doe 1 and enticed Jane Doe 1 to send him sexually explicit photographs of herself.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Harrison also used a hidden camera and a mobile phone in 2018 to produce a series of images depicting Jane Doe 2, a 10-to-11-year-old girl, nude and partially nude in a bedroom and bathroom in Pennsylvania and in a bathroom in Maryland. The images were taken without the knowledge of Jane Doe 2.
On August 12, 2021, investigators executed a search warrant at Harrison’s residence and recovered a cellphone used by Harrison to film his sexual abuse of Jane Doe 1, as well as several digital devices. A forensic examination of all the devices located files depicting the sexual abuse of children on each one, including depictions of infants and toddlers. In total, over 14,000 files of child pornography were found on Harrison’s devices.
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.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King, who prosecuted the case.
Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 45 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: