Patuxent River Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Abusive Sexual Contact With Two Children

Sexually Abused Two Victims Under the Age of 12

Greenbelt, Maryland - Justin Paul Keener, age 31, of Patuxent River, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child.  The guilty plea was entered on November 19, 2019.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge John Salazar of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

According to his guilty plea, in November 2017, while residing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Keener sexually abused a victim who was under the age of 12.  In and before November 2017, Keener sexually abused another victim, also under the age of 12, on multiple occasions.

As a result of his conviction, Keener will be required 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).

Keener and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Keener will be sentenced to between 19 and 25 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for January 17, 2020 at 2:00 p.m.

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 NCIS and the FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Baldwin, who is prosecuting the federal case.