Steven Edward Baker, Child Pornography Production, Maryland 2016

A disturbing case of child exploitation has come to light in Maryland, as a local man has admitted to producing and possessing child pornography.

Steven Edward Baker, 41, of Kensington, Maryland, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography, a crime that has left many in the community reeling.

According to court documents, Baker was interviewed by FBI agents at his business, Action Signs, located in Vienna, Virginia, on July 8, 2015. During the interview, Baker admitted to having child pornography on both his work and home computers, and stated that he had been downloading child pornography for approximately 10 years.

Baker estimated that his child pornography collection was approximately one terabyte in size, and further investigation revealed 45 images and seven videos of a girl under the age of 12, all constituting child pornography, and produced by Baker.

The images included close-ups of the victim in various states of undress, including numerous close-ups of the victim’s genitalia, and showing Baker touching areas in and around her genitalia. Additionally, over 50,000 images and 1,000 videos of child pornography were found on the digital media, which were not produced by Baker, but were downloaded from the internet.

As part of his plea agreement, Baker must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Baker and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Baker faces between 15 and 24 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas M. Sullivan, who is prosecuting the case.

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.

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