Ex-Correctional Officer pleads guilty to using his child sex abuse victims to produce child porn

Thomas Michael Mannion, Jr., 46, of Parkville, Maryland, pleaded guilty in federal court on March 9 to two counts of production of child pornography, and admitted to engaging in sexually explicit conduct with two minor victims. Mannion was employed at the Baltimore County Detention Center (BCDC) in Towson as a correctional sergeant, according to Fox News in Baltimore.

According to his guilty plea, Mannion rented the basement apartment of a townhome in Parkville, where he lived alone.  On May 6, 2019, Baltimore County Police were called to a residence after a neighbor had seen Mannion in bed naked with Minor Victim 1, who was also unclothed.  When police arrived, they located the minor victim, who was 13 years old at the time, in the basement bedroom area.  

The police investigation revealed that Mannion had met the victim a few months before on a social networking application.  Mannion had initially met the Minor Victim 1 on March 9, 2019, and brought him to his apartment, where they engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Mannion took photos and videos of Minor Victim 1 during the sexual encounter. 

Mannion admitted that on March 12, 2019 and March 17, 2019, as well as on additional occasions, he distributed the sexually explicit images of his young victim to others.  Mannion took additional sexually explicit photographs of Minor Victim 1 on May 6, 2019.  A forensic analysis of Mannion’s cellphone revealed 21 images and two videos depicting the minor victim engaged in sexually explicit activity on March 9, 2019, and an additional eight images of the victim documenting the sexual activity on May 6, 2019.

Also see:  Sergeant with Baltimore County Detention Center charged with raping 13-year-old boy

Mannion also communicated with a second minor, identified only as Minor Victim 2, who was a 14-year-old male, through the social networking application.  Mannion admitted that on April 17, 2019, Mannion went to the home of Minor Victim 2, where he engaged in sexual activity with the victim and took photographs and videos documenting the sexual contact.  Mannion distributed the child pornography images of Minor Victim 2 to multiple other users of the social networking application. 

The forensic analysis of Mannion’s cellphone recovered 18 images and two videos documenting the sexual activity with Minor Victim 2.

According to his plea deal, Mannion attempted to meet with several other minors with whom he communicated on the social networking application, even after the minors advised Mannion of their ages.  Mannion also discussed his sexual interest in other children that he knew or had contact with during sexually explicit chats with users of the application.  In addition, a review of Mannion’s laptop computer revealed multiple images of child pornography.

Mannion faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for each of the two counts of production of child pornography, followed by up to lifetime supervised release.   U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has scheduled sentencing for June 16, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.

(Source:  U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland)

Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter