Jason Daniel Ort, age 36, of Waldorf, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to transportation of child pornography.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Brigadier General Terry Bullard, Commander Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
According to his guilty plea, between September 28, 2020, and October 1, 2020, Ort knowingly transported videos containing child pornography from Maryland to New York.
As stated in his plea agreement, on October 2, 2020, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office of New York (OSCO) received a complaint from an adult complainant (Individual 1) that Ort had placed a black spy camera in Individual 1’s bedroom while visiting the individual’s home. On October 1, 2020, Individual 1 located the camera, which contained an SD card. Upon review of the SD card’s contents, Individual 1 discovered a video of a minor female using the bathroom and lifting up her dress to wipe herself. Individual 1 observed a video of Ort entering the bathroom and adjusting the camera. According to military records, Ort is a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Maryland and was scheduled for leave during that time to visit Individual 1’s residence in New York.
In an interview with OSCO officers, Ort admitted to placing the camera in Individual 1’s bedroom and that he placed the camera in several other locations, including in a bathroom at another residence in Pocomoke City, Maryland. Ort said that he watched the videos for sexual pleasure and knew that his actions were wrong.
As a result of their investigation, OSCO seized multiple electronic items in New York, including the spy camera containing the SD card and Ort’s laptop. A subsequent forensic review of the SD card revealed at least 10 video files depicting minor females using the bathroom and bathing. Ort recorded these videos using the spy camera placed in the bathroom of the Pocomoke City, Maryland residence in and around December 2019 and January 2020. The camera appeared to be positioned under the sink, facing the toilet and the shower. Throughout the videos, four minor females were recorded with their genitals exposed while either showering or using the toilet.
A forensic review of the Ort’s laptop seized in New York revealed hundreds of files constituting child pornography. Some of the files depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sex acts.
As detailed in his plea agreement, on November 16, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ort’s Waldorf, Maryland residence and recovered numerous electronic devices including a 1 TB digital hard drive, a 500 GB hard drive, and a second laptop with a 1 TB hard drive.
Upon review of one of the hard drives, law enforcement found duplicate video files to those found on the SD card depicting the minor victims. The files were located under the folder labeled “Jason’s Photos\OTS Flight 2-10 (Pictures & Video)\EMLEX (Emergency Management Leadership Exercise)\Info Assurance.”
Further, a forensic review of the second laptop located at Ort’s residence revealed a search for “production of child pornography charge” and “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on Child Pornography” on October 7, 2020.
Ort and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Ort will be sentenced to between 10 years and 15 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for May 4, 2022, at 2 p.m.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office of New York for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Collins who is prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
