Army Captain Indicted on Charges of Enticement of a Minor To Engage In Unlawful Sexual Activity and Transferring Obscene Material to a Minor

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Kevin J. Gorbsky, age 32, of Bowie, Maryland, on five counts of enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity and one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. The indictment was returned on August 23, 2018, and unsealed today.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commanding General David P. Glaser of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

According to the six-count indictment, Gorbsky was a Captain in the United States Army, stationed in Kuwait and in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, where he was assigned to work at a secure facility.  Gorbsky created and used e-mail accounts “Justin Smelder” and “John Bbeez,” and a social media account, “johnbeez66.”  Beginning in October 2015 and continuing through at least January 8, 2018, Gorbsky used those accounts to engage in online chat with hundreds of other users, many of whom identified themselves as minors between 12 and 17 years old.  Gorbsky told many of the individuals he chatted with that he was 19 years old, when in fact, he was between 28 and 31 years old.  Gorbsky’s chats with the users were sexually explicit.  Gorbsky repeatedly persuaded, enticed, and coerced the other users to send him sexually explicit images and to engage in sexually explicit video chat with him.  Gorbsky sent many of the users sexually explicit images and videos of himself.  On numerous occasions, Gorbsky accessed his accounts and engaged in sexually explicit chats using the unclassified computer system at his workplace.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that from September 22, 2017 through January 3, 2018, Gorbsky engaged in sexually explicit communications with a girl who said she was 12 years old, including during times the girl stated she was in school.  Gorbsky repeatedly asked the girl for sexually explicit images and to engage in sexually explicit video chat with him.  On October 26, 2017, Gorbsky e-mailed a sexually explicit video of himself to the girl.  The indictment alleges that Gorbsky also engaged in sexually explicit chat with four other girls who stated in their chats that they were ages 13, 17, 17, and 15, respectively.  Gorbsky repeatedly asked the girls to send him sexually explicit images of themselves and to engage in sexually explicit video chat with him.  Gorbsky also  e-mailed sexually explicit videos of himself to one of the girls who said she was 17 years old.

If convicted, Gorbsky faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for each count of enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, and a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for transfer of obscene material to a minor.  Gorbsky is scheduled to have an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson on August 27, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

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 Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and Army CID for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary A. Myers and Derek E. Hines, who are prosecuting the federal case.