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The Maryland Ice Homeland Security Investigation led to the verdict of a man who “used authority status” to sexually abuse a two-year-old boy, producing and distributing child sex abuse material online.
US District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander has been sentenced to Maryland’s Mark Rice, 38, to 30 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release to produce and distribute child sexual abuse material. This statement was part of a plea bargain.
According to a statement from the Department of Justice, Rice said she pleaded guilty to one count of production of child sex abuse material, one count of distribution of child sex abuse material, and one count of child sexual abuse material.
The DOJ said accusations arising from the US “abusing two minors in his care” to use social media platforms such as Reddit, Telegram and Kik to distribute material depicting his victims, recruit and access material depicting other children.
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Left: The Baltimore City Hall cupola can be seen in the Baltimore, Maryland skyline on May 12, 2019. (@hsilosangeles/x; Stephanie Keith/Reuters)
In a statement Tuesday, ICE said the investigation began in April 2023 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyberchip from Reddit regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material. Officials followed tips for IP addresses related to Rice’s residence in Elkton, Maryland.
Maryland State Police questioned Rice about the abuse material, and he denied the allegations, but later “observed the photo being deleted from his phone.”
According to Ice’s statement, when Rice showed the officers the phone, investigators were able to find child sexual abuse material in the image in the thumbnail. Authorities have found additional material in a recently deleted folder.
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Law enforcement officials pass the Ice logo ahead of a press conference held at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Headquarters in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 11, 2017 (Salwan George/Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Ice Homeland Security Survey (HSI) reportedly discovered more than 600 child sex abuse images across US devices. Investigators also found that Rice uses Reddit to connect with people who used an encrypted messaging platform to trade abuse material.
According to Ice, Rice began abusing her first victim when she was “under the age of three.” He produced photographic evidence of abuse and documented the abuse of another minor.
In a statement, Ice HSI Baltimore special agent Michael McCarthy was called “a powerful reminder that those who exploit and abuse children are mercilessly pursued and accountable.”
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Pedestrians passing the downtown Baltimore skyline at Federal Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, walk through Getty Images through Argo/Bloomberg (Argo/Bloomberg via Getty Images).
“Societies don’t exist for predators who create and distribute child sexual abuse material,” McCarthy said. “These crimes shatter lives. HSI will never shake our mission to bring justice to our victims by targeting those who engage in these horrifying acts.”
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Kelly Hayes, a US lawyer for the Maryland area, calls Rice a “dangerous predator.”
“This sentence reflects the gravity that exploits the most vulnerable members of our community,” Hayes said. “We are working with our law enforcement partners to actively prosecute those who sexually abuse children and participate in networks that perpetuate such exploitation.”
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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