Watch CBS News

Dundalk Sex Offender Sentenced 12 Years In Prison For Child Pornography Possession

DUNDALK, Md. (WJZ) — A Dundalk man violated his previous federal sex offense conviction and is now going back to prison.

Michael Gene Reed, 40, of Dundalk, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for not only possession of child pornography, but violating his supervised release on a previous federal sex offense conviction.

Upon his release from prison, Reed must again register as a sex offender in the places he lives, works and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to his plea agreement, Reed was convicted in February 2009 of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and possession of child pornography in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

Reed was sentenced to 90 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release and was also required to register as a sex offender.

He was released on December 24, 2014, and began his supervised release then.

Reed admitted on June 25, 2017, and December 27, 2017, Reed reported to Maryland's Sex Offender Registry that he lived in an apartment in Dundalk.

But, as of November 2017, Reed lived at a rowhome three miles away from his reported residence, with his girlfriend and her minor daughter.

Reed did not report to his probation officer that he had moved or that he was living with a minor, as was required by the terms of his supervised release.

He also participated in an online anonymous chatroom service that doesn't require user registration. He admitted that on February 14 and November 2017 he joined the chatrooms under the names "kinkfan" and "pedoperv," respectively.

Each time, he said he shared an image with others in the chatroom, specifically, an image of two minor girls engaged in sexually suggestive behavior, and an image of a man sexually abusing a prepubescent girl.

Law enforcement searched his girlfriend's rowhome with a search warrant in January 2018.

He admitted he used his work cell phone to chat on the site and that he didn't report his new address because he didn't want his girlfriend's daughter and father to learn about his prior conviction. Reed also had images of sexual abuse of prepubescent minors.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.