Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

A Laurel, Maryland man pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography today, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur of the District of Maryland.

Charles Bertsch, 59, a security guard at a local university, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Paul W. Grimm for the District of Maryland who will sentence him on Jan. 31, 2019.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, FBI Task force agents in Maryland began an investigation into Bertsch after various law enforcement agencies downloaded child pornography via a peer-to-peer network from IP addresses which led back to the defendant.  In an interview with law enforcement, Bertsch acknowledged that by connecting his computer and downloading such images, he was simultaneously enabling others to download child pornography from his hard drive. A forensic examination of Bertsch’s electronic devices, seized pursuant to a search warrant, revealed over 100,000 image files and over 2,000 video files of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Baltimore Field Office with assistance from the Baltimore County Police Department, Washington County Sheriff's Office, and Worcester County Sheriff's Office.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Baldwin of the District of Maryland.