Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander today sentenced Alexander Massari, age 53, of Owings Mills, Maryland, to 230 months in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for distribution of child pornography.  Judge Hollander also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Massari must continue 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).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“Crimes involving child pornography perpetuate the cruel and heartless business of the sexual abuse of children for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will bring to justice those who would victimize innocent children.”

According to his guilty plea, on March 15, 2018, federal investigators executed a federal search warrant for two e-mail accounts associated with Massari after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a Cybertipline Report that one of those accounts had sent or possessed child pornography.  The video file associated with the tip contained images documenting the sexual abuse of a prepubescent minor female.

Records obtained as a result of the warrant revealed that in February 2018, Massari exchanged e-mails with individuals requesting child pornography, requested money for the child pornography images, and transmitted videos and images containing child pornography.  Investigators also observed e-mails on February 13 and 28, 2018, during which Massari corresponded with another person about exchanging child pornography.  During one exchange, Massari wrote “here you go” and the person responded “you got any more.”  Massari responded that he did, but that Massari was interested in receiving child pornography in exchange.

On April 11, 2018, a company that provides website hosting services sent a Cybertipline Report to NCMEC for a child pornography violation that occurred on April 10, 2018.  The user being reported was a member of Massari’s family, but Massari admitted that he was using the family member’s name and that Massari was the actual user.  Although the website had been taken down by the time investigators identified it, the files provided by the web hosting service allowed law enforcement to recreate what the website looked like when it was taken down.  FBI investigators viewed the files and at the top of the home page were the words “illegal.cp” and “join now!”  The website provided information concerning the prices for different levels of membership that individuals could pay to obtain child pornography files.  The home page of the website contained several images of child pornography.

On June 7, 2018, FBI investigators executed a federal search warrant at Massari’s residence and recovered numerous electronic storage devices, including a laptop computer and a computer hard drive.  Those devices were examined pursuant to a federal search warrant and investigators recovered more than 600 images of child pornography from Massari’s electronic devices, including images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and sadistic conduct.

Massari also has a previous 2006 federal conviction for possession of child pornography.

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 for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Hanlon, who prosecuted the federal case.