United States of America v. Brian Patrick Werth

Greenbelt, Maryland criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with two counts of producing child sexual abuse material.

Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 37 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Brian Patrick Werth, 40, of Beltsville, Maryland, to 37 years in federal prison, followed by 25 years of supervised release, for two counts of producing child sexual abuse material.



Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy, Homeland Security Investigations.



Werth was convicted of coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and engaging with a minor as a registered sex offender. Upon his release from prison, Werth is required to register as a sex offender where he resides, is employed, and where he is a student under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Judge Chuang also ordered Werth to refrain from contact with children under 18 years old, without prior permission, and to submit to computer monitoring.



After a three-day trial, a jury found that from January 2021 through June 2021, Werth communicated with minor females, ages 11 and 15, through internet-based applications WhatsApp and Kik. During these interactions, Werth persuaded, coerced, and enticed the minor females to engage in sexually explicit conduct by producing sexually explicit videos of themselves. Additionally, Werth engaged in child sexual abuse as a member of the Maryland Sex Offender Registry for a previous sex offense conviction.



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 Homeland Security Investigations and the Maryland State Police Department for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney LaShanta Harris who led the prosecution of this case.