BALTIMORE — A Baltimore man has been sentenced to 25 years for using social media to entice a minor to produce child pornography.
According to officials, 42-year-old Antonio Wright admitted to using a social media network to entice a minor he knew since 2009. They say Wright was said to have lived with the minor's family back in 2017 and had sexually abused her since she was 11 years old.
Evidence shows that in August of 2017, Wright and the girl who was 13 years old at the time began talking through text messages, audio messages, and images, through a social media platform. Wright sent message's to the girl declaring his love for her and even went as far as telling her they would eventually get married.
Wright instructed her not to tell others that she has “an older man for a boyfriend,” and that he would get in trouble if anyone found out.
Months later, Wright spent time with the girl at his house in Baltimore City. Her foster mother noticed that she wasn't home and in an effort to locate her, she found the young girl's tablet and saw the sexually explicit chats and images. The girl's foster mother then filed a report with the Maryland Department of Human Services, who referred the case to Child Protective Services for investigation. The department located the sexually explicit photos, texts, messages, and voice messages during their investigation.
Wright admitted to investigators that he engaged in sexual conversations with the girl. He also admitted to sexually molesting her at his house on January 4, 2018.
Wright was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for coercing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and for two counts of production of child pornography. Wright will also be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
