WASHINGTON — A Kensington, Maryland, man faces up to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to producing and collecting child pornography.
Steve Edward Baker, 41, took a plea deal after he was arrested for having thousands of movies and images depicting child pornography on his home and work computers.
It was in July of 2015 when FBI agents showed up to Baker’s business Action Signs in Vienna, Virginia. The plea deal states that when approached by special agents, Baker said he had child pornography on his computers and was waiting for someone to come. He then showed agents his work computer, where an illegal file was in the process of downloading.
Prosecutors say Baker admitted to having sexually explicit videos and images involving children on both his work and home computers. Agents also say he told them he had been downloading the illegal media for at least 10 years and his collection was about a terabyte in size.
After searching his home and seizing computers, hard drives and cameras, investigators discovered 45 images and seven videos involving a girl under 12 years old, which they believe Baker produced himself.
Prosecutors said the pictures and videos were taken at what appears to be Baker’s home and at a park between 2008 and 2013. Some images and videos depicted close-up images of the girl’s private areas while others showed Baker touching the girl, according the U.S. attorney’s office.
Also, the hard drives revealed 50,000 images and 1,000 videos of child pornography that were not produced by Baker.
Baker pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court District of Maryland in Greenbelt in a plea deal, and will face 15 to 24 years in prison when he is sentence on Oct. 14. When he is released, Baker will have to register as a sexual predator and will be on supervised release for the rest of his life.
