Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Videos of Child Pornography

            WASHINGTON – Bayo Thomas Bakare, 42, a previously convicted sex offender, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possessing six videos of child sexual abuse materials on his mobile phone in September 2023 and maintaining additional child exploitation videos on an online storage application. At the time of the offense, Bakare was on supervised release for a previous conviction of distributing child pornography. The sentencing was announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Bakare pleaded guilty February 8, 2024, to a charge of access with intent to view child pornography. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered Bakare to serve 15 years of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on April 15, 2023, law enforcement agencies conducted compliance checks of sex offenders registered within Washington, D.C. Bakare, who lived on the 3200 block of 8^th Street, NE, was a registered sex offender in the District due to a 2016 conviction on a charge of distribution of child pornography for which he was sentenced to 60 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

            Bakare met the law enforcement agents at his front door. The group was comprised of members of the U.S. Probation Office (USPO), United States Marshals Service (USMS), Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), and a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force (CEHTTF). Bakare indicated that he needed to retrieve clothes from his bedroom. The USPO member followed Bakare into his bedroom. The USPO member spotted a Galaxy A11 cell phone, and an Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max plugged into a wall charger. Bakare said that the Galaxy phone was being monitored by USPO. Bakare reported that the Apple iPhone was not monitored. Because Bakare was on supervised release, he was forbidden to have a phone that was not monitored by the USPO. The iPhone was seized. The USPO subjected the iPhone to a forensic extraction which revealed six videos depicting child exploitation and an additional 30 video depicting likely child exploitation stored on the Discord application.

            This case was investigated by the U.S. Probation Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Foreman.

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