Pasadena man faces child pornography charges in FBI sting
BALTIMORE -- An Anne Arundel County man faces federal child pornography charges after he allegedly distributed sexually explicit images of children to an undercover FBI agent, according to court documents.
Justin Lee Snowden is charged with the distribution of child pornography and the attempted receipt of child pornography. According to charging documents, Snowden was "offering up" two children for sex on the messaging app Kik.
An undercover FBI agent, part of the child exploitation task force with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., initiated a conversation with Snowden on Sept. 8. Snowden allegedly detailed to the agent how he sexually abuses the children, according to a statement of facts by an MPD officer.
Through the course of the conversation, Snowden allegedly sent multiple sexually explicit images of children, and told the agent he has a girlfriend who was unaware of the abuse.
Using emergency disclosure forms sent to Kik, Google, Comcast and Meta, along with several other investigative techniques, the FBI was able to identify Snowden as the suspect behind the profile.
Snowden is from Pasadena, according to court records, but has been at a residential treatment center in Crownsville since June, when a judge placed him there as a result of a third-degree burglary conviction.
He was arrested Friday. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya ordered Monday he be held in detention until his preliminary hearing on Oct. 11.
