James Robert Wissmann, IV, Possession of Child Pornography, Maryland 2022

A former Baltimore police officer has been sentenced to over six years in prison for his role in a child pornography ring, according to the Grimy Times investigation.

James Robert Wissmann, IV, a 35-year-old Baltimore resident, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for his possession of child pornography. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III.

The investigation, which began in July 2019, found that Wissmann had used fake names and email addresses to create multiple accounts on a mobile application that allowed users to share files and communicate with one another.

Using these accounts, Wissmann distributed and received files of child pornography and engaged in discussions about the sexual exploitation of children. The application, which monitored activity on its platform, identified Wissmann’s accounts as sharing contraband files and subsequently shut them down.

However, Wissmann continued to create new accounts, using fake names and email addresses, and continued to share child pornography and discuss child exploitation. Investigators executed a search warrant at Wissmann’s residence in July 2019 and seized his laptop computer, removable digital media, and mobile phones. A forensic examination of the seized items found images and videos of child pornography on Wissmann’s laptop.

Wissmann was suspended from the Baltimore Police Department on July 31, 2019, and subsequently resigned. He was charged with possession of child pornography and pleaded guilty to the crime.

Wissmann’s sentence is a result of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Defendant Information: James Robert Wissmann, IV, formerly a police officer with the Baltimore City Police Department, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography.

Crime: Possession of child pornography.

City and State: Baltimore, Maryland.

Date: July 31, 2019.

Sentence: 78 months in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release.

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