Security News: Former Private School Employee Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – Jay Gordon, age 55, of Crofton, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of child pornography.  Gordon was identified as a suspect in the trafficking of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”), also called child pornography, during a nationwide investigation involving the receipt and distribution of CSAM via Dark Web sites and forum. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore.

According to his guilty plea, during the investigation, Gordon’s Internet Protocol (IP) address was found to access Dark Web sites.  A search warrant was executed at Gordon’s residence and law enforcement seized numerous computer devices that Gordon admitted belonged to him.  Preliminary forensic analysis showed multiple images of CSAM.  Initially, Gordon declined to specify where he worked in Washington, DC, but the investigators determined that he worked in the IT department of a private school. 

As detailed in his plea agreement, a subsequent forensic examination of some of the seized devices showed thousands of videos and still images of child pornography.  Some of Gordon’s devices were secured in a manner that precluded forensic analysis.  The CSAM found on the devices was arranged in well- organized folders and reflected years of activity.  Gordon also used an application that facilitated anonymous web browsing.  Some of the images in Gordon’s collection were of prepubescent minors.  Forensic examination of computers that Gordon used at his work location indicated that he also accessed Dark Web sites relating to CSAM on those devices, which were also connected to digital media that showed connection to computer devices seized from Gordon’s home.

Gordon faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison followed by up to lifetime supervised release for possession of child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has scheduled sentencing for October 17, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.  Upon his release from prison, Gordon will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). 

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.         

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI in Baltimore and in Boston, Massachusetts for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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