Repeat Sex Offender Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of More Than 5,000 Videos of Child Pornography

 Repeat Sex Offender Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of More Than 5,000 Videos of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake today sentenced Daniel Provencal, age 48, of Denton, Maryland, to 138 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Provencal also admitted guilt to violating his supervised release conditions established in relation to his previous child pornography conviction. Judge Blake also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Provencal 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 Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Joseph A. Riley of the Caroline County State’s Attorney’s Office.

According to his guilty plea, from January 2020 to October 2020, Provencal possessed and repeatedly distributed child pornography on an internet-based messaging application. Provencal used multiple devices to download and distribute images of prepubescent minors, including images that depicted sadomasochistic conduct. 

In January 2020, the internet-based messaging application sent two CyberTips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding two messaging accounts, paperfly6 and hyproglo13. Between the two accounts, more than 10 videos of child pornography were detected, including a video of a prepubescent girl approximately six to nine years old engaging in sexual acts with an adult male. The IP addresses associated with both reported accounts were assigned to Provencal’s Denton, Maryland residence.

As stated in his plea agreement, on October 15, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Provencal’s residence and seized several electronic devices including two cell phones, an SD card adaptor, six SD cards, a laptop, a computer, and two tablets.

During the search warrant, officers also recovered a piece of paper with 26 account usernames and passwords. The paperfly6 and hyproglo13 accounts were included on the list of accounts.

A forensic review of Provencal’s devices revealed that each device contained child pornography totaling in 5,000 videos of child abuse material. Investigators also discovered videos involving the abuse of an infant.  In addition, the review revealed that Provencal repeatedly distributed child pornography abuse material to other users on the messaging application. Provencal also engaged in explicit chats in which he discussed his sexual attraction to minors.          

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.         

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the FBI, Maryland State Police, and the Caroline County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Riley who prosecuted the federal case.