Naval Employee Charged Faces Child Pornography Charges

A 34-year-old Silver Spring man has been indicted in connection with the production, transportation and possession of child pornography, a Justice Department statement released Monday said.

The indictment against Spencer E. Steckman was returned on March 26, and unsealed upon his arrest, the statement said.

Steckman, who works with Commander Navy Region Japan, was charged with one count each of producing, transporting and possessing child pornography, according to the statement.

Steckman had his initial court appearance Monday and was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

According to the indictment, between Aug. 17, 2017, and Sept. 22, 2017, Steckman, while in Maryland, enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.  In mid-November 2017, Steckman moved to Japan to work with Commander Navy Region Japan, the statement said. In Japan, Steckman transported and possessed child pornography.

Steckman was detained by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Japan on March 27, and taken back to Maryland by the U.S. Marshals Service on Sunday, to appear before the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the statement said.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice department. The project uses federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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