Baltimore Man Found Guilty For Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor To Produce Child Pornography, Cyberstalking, And For Possession Of Child Pornography

Baltimore, Maryland – After a three-day trial, a federal jury returned a verdict of guilty against Christopher Kenji Bendann, age 40 of Baltimore, on five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography, one count of cyberstalking, and three counts possession of child pornography, all relating to his sexual exploitation of a minor male victim.

The guilty verdict was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.          

 According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately September 16, 2017 to February 9, 2019, the Defendant produced multiple videos of a minor male engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.  The victim was 16 and 17 years old during this time. These same videos were stored on the Defendant’s iCloud and comprised a possession of child pornography charge.  Additionally, as detailed at trial, between May and December 2022, the Defendant cyberstalked the same victim by sending electronic cellphone messages to the victim, demanding contact and explicit images of him, and threatening to make public sexually-explicit images of the victim if he did not comply.  The evidence at trial likewise established that on February 3, 2023, the date of the Defendant’s arrest, the Defendant possessed multiple depictions of child pornography on the Defendant’s multiple electronic devices.

The Defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each count of sexual exploitation of a child to produce child pornography; a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count of possession of child pornography; and, a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for cyberstalking.  U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for January 21, 2025 at 1:30 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.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn and Kim Y. Hagan, who are prosecuting the federal case.  He also recognized the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Julie Jarman. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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