Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced To Seven Years In Federal Prison For Receipt Of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George L. Russell. III, sentenced defendant Jacob Joseph Muir, 26, of Pasadena, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by 30 years of supervised release for one count of receipt of child pornography. Judge Russell also ordered Muir after his release from prison, to register as a sex offender, have no contact with children under 18, without permission, and undergo computer monitoring.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to the plea agreement, from July to August 2019, Muir pretended to be a teenage boy to entice minors to produce and send him sexually explicit photographs on social media site Instagram. A subsequent investigation revealed that Muir used aliases to communicate with minors, directing and enticing them to send him sexually graphic images of themselves.

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 locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kertisha Dixon and Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Aubin, who prosecuted this case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.