Elkton Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Sex Abuse Material

Baltimore, Maryland – Mark Rice, 38, of Elkton, Maryland, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing and distributing child sex abuse material.

Rice was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander after he previously pled guilty to one count of producing child sex abuse material, one count of distributing child sex abuse material, and one count of possessing child sex abuse material.

The charges stem from Rice’s sexual abuse of two minors in his care while he used social media to distribute and solicit child sex abuse material. According to his plea agreement, Rice used his position of authority to sexually abuse a minor – beginning when she was less than 3 years old – as he created photographic evidence of the abuse.

Rice also exploited a second minor through surreptitious photography. He actively participated in online communities dedicated to trading child sex abuse material, using platforms such as Reddit, Telegram, and Kik to distribute images of his victims and obtain material depicting other children.

“Rice is a dangerous predator who is now behind bars for a long time where he can’t harm any more children,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes. “This sentence reflects the gravity of exploiting the most vulnerable members of our communities. We’re committed to working with our law-enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute those who sexually abuse children and participate in networks that perpetuate such exploitation.”

This case is 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. U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI and MSP for their investigative efforts and NCMEC for its valuable assistance in the case.

Rice’s sentence includes a lifetime of supervised release. The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Maryland State Police (MSP), with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy said, “This sentencing is a powerful reminder that those who exploit and abuse children will be relentlessly pursued and held accountable. There is no place in society for predators who create and distribute child sex abuse material. These crimes shatter lives, and HSI will never waver in our mission to bring justice to victims by targeting those who commit these horrific acts.”

The case against Rice was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gordin. The sentence was handed down on [date].

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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

For the safety of children, click the “Resources” tab on the left side of the page to learn about Internet safety education.