SNOW HILL — A Berlin man faces as many as 50 years in jail after pleading guilty this week to five counts of possession of child pornography stemming from an investigation in January 2010.
On Monday, Kirt Greenberg, 45, of was acquitted on all 30 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography and other charges stemming from a September 2009 FBI investigation. The FBI began investigating Greenberg in 2009 when a special agent had logged into a public website in an undercover capacity and was allegedly invited by Greenberg to join his chat room. Once inside the chat room, the FBI special agent was able to download over 500 images of child pornography.
During the proceedings on Monday, a jury had been selected and opening statements had been made before Greenberg’s attorney filed a motion for acquittal on all charges, which was granted by visiting Circuit Court Judge D.B. Mitchell. However, the case against Greenberg set in for trial on Monday represented only a portion of the charges against the defendant and he was back in court on Tuesday to face 28 counts of child pornography possession and distribution related to a parallel investigation conducted by the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) in 2010.
On Tuesday, Greenberg pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of child pornography. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and/or a $25,000 fine. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered and Greenberg’s was ordered held without bond until sentencing, which has been set for Dec. 20.
In January 2010, Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) detectives began investigating Greenberg for an alleged violation of the Peeping Tom law. During the investigation, it was learned a female juvenile had been residing at Greenberg’s residence in Berlin on a temporary basis. Based on conversations the victim had with Greenberg during her time at his residence, she believed the suspect had videotaped her without her consent wearing little or no clothing.
Based on interviews with the victim, WCBI detectives in late February 2010 executed a search and seizure warrant on Greenberg’s Berlin home, recovering several computer hard drives that were turned over to the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes unit for analysis.
Through the WCBI investigation, it was learned that in September 2009, the FBI began a parallel investigation into Greenberg’s possible possession and distribution of child pornography. The FBI began investigating Greenberg when a special agent had logged into a public website in an undercover capacity and was allegedly invited by Greenberg to join his chat room. Once inside the chat room, the FBI special agent was able to download over 500 images of child pornography.
While Greenberg pleaded guilty this week to five counts of possession of child pornography, which are clearly the most serious of the bevy of charges against the Berlin resident in the last two years, he also awaits sentencing on animal cruelty charges next week. Just last week, Greenberg was found guilty on all seven counts of animal cruelty against him stemming from an incident in August during which law enforcement officials found him in possession of several animals in compromised health conditions for the second time in a year.
On Aug. 24, Berlin Police received a tip that Greenberg was in possession of animals in compromised health conditions in direct violation of his probation for an animal cruelty conviction in Salisbury in August 2010. When officers arrived at Greenberg’s Berlin home on Aug. 24, they found a total of seven animals in extremely hot conditions in his vehicle and residence. Last week, Greenberg was found guilty in District Court on all seven counts of animal cruelty stemming from the Aug. 24 incident and sentencing has been set for Dec. 6.
The Aug. 24 incident was in direct violation of the terms of Greenberg’s probation for an August 2010 incident during which he left six dogs in a vehicle in a mall parking lot in Salisbury in 100-degree-plus heat. Greenberg was found guilty on one count of inflicting animal cruelty in that case and was sentenced to 90 days, all but 30 days of which were suspended. He was also placed on probation for one year and was prohibited from keeping animals.
During the incident in Berlin in August, when officers arrived at Greenberg’s residence, they found two cats in a vehicle in 100-degree-plus heat. A search of the residence revealed five more animals in the attic, also in 100-degree-plus heat.
In the August 2010 incident in Salisbury, local police responded to a call from the parking lot at the Centre at Salisbury for dogs secured in a dangerously hot vehicle. Upon arrival, police met with witnesses who pointed out a vehicle in the parking lot with six dogs inside, which appeared to be in physical duress due to the heat.
The officer gained entry into the vehicle and determined the temperature inside was over 105 degrees. One of the dogs was found to be unresponsive and later died from exposure to the heat. The remaining dogs were given water and air conditioning and slowly revived.