Pasadena Man Pleads Guilty To Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor And Commission Of A Felony Involving A Minor By A Registered Sex Offender

Baltimore, Maryland – Gary Hammond Jackson III, age 32, of Pasadena, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to federal charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and the commission of a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender.

The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Baltimore Field Office, Roland L. Butler, Jr. Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, and Anne Colt Leitess of the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office.

According to his guilty plea, in 2020 and 2022, Jackson sexually abused two minor females, then ages 6 and 3, and produced images of the abuse.  Specifically, in November 2020, Jackson sexually abused the first victim, then 6 years old, and used his cell phone to produce three images of the abuse.  In addition to the sexual exploitation that occurred in November 2020, Jackson sexually assaulted the victim at various times between January 2020 and December 2020.  On the basis of that separate conduct, Jackson was convicted of a Fourth Degree Sex Offense and Second Degree Assault in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Following his release, Jackson was required to register as a sex offender. 

After being required to register as a sex offender, Jackson used his cell phone in November 2022 to produce thirteen images of a second victim’s genitals when the victim was 3 years old.  In November 2022, investigators searched Jackson’s residence and located various digital devices, which contained over 1,500 files of child pornography.   

Jackson faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison for commission of a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.

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 Maryland State Police, and the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Spencer L. Todd and Paul E. Budlow, who are prosecuting the case.

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/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

# # #