Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Related to Soliciting Sexually Explicit Images of Children

Baltimore, Maryland – Eugene Edward Golden, age 37, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child and to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child in order to produce and transmit a visual depiction of the sexually explicit conduct. 

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Baltimore; Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police (“MSP”); Chief Gregory Der of the Howard County Police Department; and Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, beginning in at least 2019, Golden located several females, specifically six co-defendants, using dating or prostitution websites, and communicated with each of them individually using texts, messaging applications and social media.  Golden requested that each of the women produce sexually explicit videos and images of children, citing his a fetish, and then to send those files to Golden in exchange for financial compensation. 

Golden’s co-defendants agreed to his requests and produced and distributed sexually explicit images and videos of at least 12 minor victims, using their cellphones.  The victims ranged in age from approximately one year old to 13 years old.  Images and videos documenting the sexual abuse were found in Golden’s online accounts.  Golden produced and received well over 100 images and videos documenting the sexual abuse of children at his request.

Golden faces a maximum sentence of 90 years in federal prison—a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for each of the three counts.  U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox has not set a date for sentencing.

As detailed in Golden’s plea agreement, upon his release from prison, Golden will be required 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”). 

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.         

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the MSP-led Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn, who is prosecuting the federal 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.

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