GREENBELT, Md. - Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Jeffrey Sopher, age 40, of Marbury, Charles County, on June 18 to 114 months in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for two counts of transportation of child pornography. Chief Judge Chasanow ordered that, upon his release from prison, Sopher must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is employed, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and U.S. Marshal Johnny Hughes.
According to Sopher’s plea agreement, on July 4, 2009, Sopher took two photos of a three year old child who was sleeping in his home, including a sexually explicit photo. Sopher took the photos with his cell phone, then uploaded them to his computer. From May 9, 2009, through September 20, 2009, Sopher exchanged child pornography with other individuals, including the photos he had taken of the young girl at his home. On October 28, 2011, a search warrant was executed at Sopher’s residence. A bedroom, bed linens and other objects matched the background of the photos Sopher had taken of the young girl. Law enforcement also identified 10 files of child pornography on Sopher’s digital media, including one of the images Sopher had taken of the girl.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service for their work in these investigations. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas, assigned from the Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, who prosecuted these cases.
Source: Office of United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein