Harford County woman sentenced to 17 years for trafficking, exploiting 2 children

A Harford County woman was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison for trafficking and sexually exploiting two children, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Maryland. 

Ashley Graybeal, 27, of Aberdeen, was also ordered to serve 15 years of probation after she pleaded guilty in February to trafficking and exploitation offenses as well as distributing child sex abuse materials, court officials said. 

In January 2025, Graybeal began using a Kik account to message other users. She offered them sexually explicit photos of two minors and offered to perform sexual acts with the children in a livestream in exchange for money, according to court officials. 

Graybeal sent the explicit images of the two children to other Kik users and accepted payments for the photos through an online banking app, court documents allege. 

The photos were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through a tip line in February, and law enforcement officials intervened to recover the two children, court officials said. 

The case was part of a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to address child exploitation and abuse, court officials said.