Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Maryland Division: Daniel Morozewicz, age 38, of Frederick, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge Selwyn Smith of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith; and Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. “Chuck” Jenkins.

According to his guilty plea, from September 2020 to January 2021, while employed as a Rockville Police Officer and an Army National Guardsman, Morozewicz received, possessed, and distributed child pornography on the BitTorrent file sharing network.  Morozewicz also used multiple electronic devices to download and distribute child pornography involving prepubescent minors.

During that time, Morozewicz repeatedly distributed child pornography to undercover law enforcement officers.  On at least four instances in 2020, investigators determined that the devices associated with Morozewicz’s IP address downloaded and shared child pornographic files on the BitTorrent; including eight packages of child pornography.

As stated in his guilty plea, on March 4, 2021, Morozewicz received a tip that federal law enforcement wished to conduct an in-person interview with him.  The next day, on March 5, 2021, law enforcement executed a series of search and seizure warrants on Morozewicz’s residence, vehicle, and his person.  As a result of the search of Morozewicz’s person, law enforcement seized a smartphone which had been recently factory reset and erased in light of the impending visit from federal law enforcement.  He also admitted that he discarded his computer in anticipation of a visit from law enforcement.  Morozewicz’s actions were viewed as an attempt to impede the investigation and prosecution of his child pornography offenses.

Multiple electronic devices were seized in connection the warrants executed at Morozewicz’s residence and in his vehicle.  A forensic examination of Morozewicz’s devices revealed that he possessed over 12,300 depictions of child pornography and erotica, including over 200 depicts involving the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers, and over 90 child pornographic images involving sado-masochistic conduct.

Morozewicz faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison followed by up to lifetime of supervised release for possession of child pornography.   U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has scheduled sentencing for September 8, 2022, at 11:00 a.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.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Riley and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce King, Chief Counsel with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office, who prosecuted the federal case.