BERLIN — A Berlin man was arrested on child pornography charges on Monday after computers and other items seized during the execution of a warrant on his residence in mid-April revealed he was allegedly promoting and distributing the illicit materials.
On April 17, members of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI), the Department of Homeland Security, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office executed a search and seizure warrant at an address on Pin Oak Drive in Berlin. The search warrant was the result of several months of prior investigation, which revealed someone inside the residence was downloading and sharing pictures and videos of child pornography.
Onside inside the residence, officers seized numerous computers and other related items. The investigation determined the suspect, Jose Cano Lopez, 21, of Berlin, was the sole user of the computers and other items. An arrest warrant was obtained for Lopez and was served on the suspect on Monday. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was held on a $50,000 bond. Lopez subsequently posted bond and was released.
He has been charged with six counts of promoting and distributing child pornography, six counts of possession of child pornography and one count of possession and distribution of obscene matter. The investigation and subsequent arrest of Lopez was the latest in a series of similar arrests in Worcester as part of the recently added Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is dedicated to protecting and preventing the abuse and exploitation of children.
The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office is a member of the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is comprised of police agencies from across the state. Its primary mission is to protect children from computer-facilitated exploitation. The task force works directly with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to provide resources to prevent these crimes.
Just last week, another Worcester County man arrested through the task force was indicted in U.S. District Court by a federal grand jury on child pornography production, possession and distribution charges following his arrest in Stockton in February. Laiton Blake Witkowski, 41 now faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years for each of the two counts of production of child pornography.