Maryland man pleads guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity

BALTIMORE — A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to the plea agreement, in September and November 2010, Larry W. Warner, Jr., 33, of Joppa, Md., posted advertisements in an online website seeking girls' underwear for him to use in an act which Warner described in a sexually explicit manner.

A Baltimore County detective responded to the ads, in one instance representing that he was the father of a minor girl, and in the second instance representing that he was a prepubescent minor girl. In each case, Warner engaged in graphic sexual conversations and sent sexually explicit electronic photos of children or himself to the undercover detective.

On Nov. 3, 2010, Warner agreed to travel to a Baltimore County hotel to have sexual contact with what he thought was the minor daughter of the undercover detective, but Warner later cancelled the meeting, stating that his father was in the hospital.

In October and November 2010, Warner posted additional online ads wherein he offered free babysitting services for young children while also describing his own build, genitalia and sexual tendencies.

After several online sexually explicit conversations with the undercover detective, on Nov. 30, 2010, Warner arranged to meet the supposed minor girl and her eight year-old sister in Essex, Md., in order to engage in sexual activity. On Dec. 1, 2010, Warner drove to the agreed-upon location and was arrested by Baltimore County Police officers.

On Dec. 2, 2010, Baltimore County Police officers executed a search warrant at Warner's home and recovered a personal computer containing numerous images of child pornography.

As part of the plea agreement, Warner and the government have agreed that if the court accepts the plea agreement, Warner will be sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Warner will also be required to 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). U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg has scheduled sentencing for Jan. 13, 2012, at 11:00 a.m.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, District of Maryland, commended ICE HSI, the FBI and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.

U.S. Attorney Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Crooks, who is prosecuting the case.