FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2008MAN SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IN PRISON AFTER SECOND
CONVICTION FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Thomas Cargill, age 42, of Endicott, New York, formerly of Hollywood, Maryland, today to 10 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release for possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Titus found that Cargill qualified for an enhanced sentence, because of a previous state conviction for a sexual offense involving a child or children. Cargill is also required to register as a sex offender and may not have any computer access without the permission of and monitoring by U.S. Parole and Probation.

According to his guilty plea, on February 14, 2007, Cargill’s girlfriend brought two CDs, which she suspected contained child pornography and Cargill’s desktop computer to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office. Detectives viewed the two CDs and saw numerous pictures of prepubescent females, from as young as about six years old, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On February 20, 2007, St. Mary's County detectives interviewed Cargill, who admitted that he downloaded child pornography from the Internet approximately twice a week, using a file sharing program. Cargill’s CDs and computer were subsequently forensically examined by FBI agents. The CDs contained approximately 271 images of child pornography, and many of the images were from a website known by the FBI to contain images of child pornography, which is hosted outside of the United States. A federal criminal complaint was filed on August 14, 2007, charging Cargill with possession of child pornography.

On July 20, 2005, Cargill pleaded guilty in the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, Maryland, to possessing child pornography and was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended, and one year supervised probation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Sartori, who prosecuted the case.