District of Maryland | Baltimore man found guilty of sexual exploitation of minor to produce child pornography, cyberstalking and possession of child pornography

BaltimoreMaryland – After a three-day trial, a federal jury has found Christopher Kenji Bendann, 40, of Baltimore, guilty on five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography, one count of cyberstalking and three counts of possession of child pornography, all related to his sexual exploitation of an underage male victim.

The guilty verdict was entered by Erek L. Barron, District Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent William J. DelBagno, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief of Police Robert McCullough, of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County District Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately September 16, 2017, to February 9, 2019, defendant produced multiple videos of a minor male engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The victim was 16 and 17 years old at the time. These videos were stored on defendant’s iCloud and constitute a charge of possession of child pornography. Additionally, as detailed at trial, between May and December 2022, defendant cyberstalked the same victim by sending electronic cell phone messages to the victim, demanding contact and explicit images from him, and threatening to release sexually explicit images of the victim if he did not comply. The evidence at trial also established that on February 3, 2023, the date of defendant’s arrest, defendant possessed multiple images of child pornography on defendant’s various electronic devices.

The defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count of sexual exploitation of a child to produce child pornography; a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count of possession of child pornography; and a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for the cyberstalking charge. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar scheduled sentencing for January 21, 2025 at 1:30 p.m.

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 investigate, 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 information about Internet safety education, visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left side of the page.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn and Kim Y. Hagan, who are prosecuting the federal case. He also acknowledged the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Julie Jarman.

For more information about the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, its priorities, and the resources available to assist the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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