BALTIMORE COUNTY — A former Baltimore County correctional officer pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to two counts of production of child pornography and admitted to engaging in sexually explicit conduct with two underage victims.
Thomas Mannion Jr., 46, 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.
Mannion rented the basement apartment of a Parkville townhome. On May 6, 2019, police were called after a neighbor saw Mannion naked in bed with a 13-year-old boy.
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The investigation revealed that Mannion had met the victim a few months before on a social networking application. Mannion had initially met one of the minor victims on March 9, 2019, and brought him to his apartment, where they engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
In his cellphone, police found 21 images and two videos of the victim engaged in explicit activity dated March 9, 2019, and eight images documenting the activity on May 6.
Mannion admitted to contacting a second victim, a 14-year-old boy, through the social networking application. On April 17, 2019, he went to that boy's home, where he engaged in sexual activity and took photos and videos of the conduct.
He distributed the pornographic images of both victims to other users of the social network. Investigators found 18 photos and two videos from the encounter with the 14-year-old boy on his cellphone.
Mannion admitted he tried to meet with several other minors through the social networking application, even after they told him they were minors.
He discussed his sexual interest in children during chats with other users. Numerous images of child pornography were found on his laptop.
U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher scheduled sentencing for June 16.
