Sex Offender Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact With Two Children

Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel today sentenced Justin Paul Keener, age 31, of Patuxent River, Maryland, to 25 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, on each of two counts of abusive sexual contact with a child, to be served concurrently.  Judge Hazel also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Keener must 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 sexual abuse of a child devastates the victim and their family,” said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur.  “Justin Keener will now have 25 years in federal prison, where there is no parole—ever—to think about the suffering he has inflicted on these innocent children.  This office will continue to prioritize child exploitation cases in order to protect our children from predators like Keener.”

The sentence 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.

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 prosecuted the federal case.