GREENBELT, MD—Frank Alan Klukosky, age 43, of Laurel, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief Richard McLaughlin of the Laurel Police Department; Howard County Police Chief William McMahon; and Elton Malone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations, Special Investigations Branch.
According to the plea agreement, in June 2012, a federal probation officer discovered images and videos of child pornography on the cell phone of a registered sex offender on federal probation. Further investigation revealed that on June 24, 2012, Klukosky drove to the registered sex offender’s home in Laurel with an SD card that contained at least 120 images and six videos of child pornography. Klukosky then helped the registered sex offender load those images and videos onto his computer and cell phone.
On October 23, 2012, the FBI executed a search warrant at Klukosky’s home and seized video cameras, key fob cameras, computers, an external hard drive, and other computer accessories. The external hard drive contained approximately 2,000 images and 16 videos of child pornography, including 11 videos depicting a 13-year-old girl in a bathroom. The videos were taken with hidden key fob cameras. The videos were recorded on at least 10 occasions and depict the victim in stages of undress. In at least one of the videos, Klukosky is recorded while setting up or taking down the camera.
As part of his plea agreement, Klukosky must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Klukosky and the government have agreed that if the court accepts the plea agreement Klukosky, will be sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for May 20, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from 10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The task force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution
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 Attorneys’ 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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, the Laurel and Howard County Police Departments, and HHS-OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi O’Malley, who is prosecuting the case.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief Richard McLaughlin of the Laurel Police Department; Howard County Police Chief William McMahon; and Elton Malone, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations, Special Investigations Branch.
According to the plea agreement, in June 2012, a federal probation officer discovered images and videos of child pornography on the cell phone of a registered sex offender on federal probation. Further investigation revealed that on June 24, 2012, Klukosky drove to the registered sex offender’s home in Laurel with an SD card that contained at least 120 images and six videos of child pornography. Klukosky then helped the registered sex offender load those images and videos onto his computer and cell phone.
On October 23, 2012, the FBI executed a search warrant at Klukosky’s home and seized video cameras, key fob cameras, computers, an external hard drive, and other computer accessories. The external hard drive contained approximately 2,000 images and 16 videos of child pornography, including 11 videos depicting a 13-year-old girl in a bathroom. The videos were taken with hidden key fob cameras. The videos were recorded on at least 10 occasions and depict the victim in stages of undress. In at least one of the videos, Klukosky is recorded while setting up or taking down the camera.
As part of his plea agreement, Klukosky must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
Klukosky and the government have agreed that if the court accepts the plea agreement Klukosky, will be sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for May 20, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.
The case was investigated by the FBI-led Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force (MCETF), created in 2010 to combat child prostitution, with members from 10 state and federal law enforcement agencies. The task force coordinates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit to identify missing children being advertised online for prostitution
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 Attorneys’ 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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, the Laurel and Howard County Police Departments, and HHS-OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristi O’Malley, who is prosecuting the case.
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