| MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUALLY EXPLOITING CHILD
WHILE SERVING IN U.S. MILITARY Baltimore, Maryland – A 32-year-old man pled guilty in federal court to child sexual abuse crimes. Daniel Lara-Salazar, charged with sexually exploiting a child, committed these crimes while serving in the U.S. Military. Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Christopher R. Heck, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland; Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, Frederick County Sheriff's Office; and J. Charles Smith III, State's Attorney for Frederick County. According to his guilty plea, Lara-Salazar, who was stationed in Pallyup, Washington, coerced and enticed a minor female victim, who resided in Maryland, to engage in sexually explicit conduct. From June 2024, through July 2024, Lara-Salazar sexually exploited her by producing and causing the production of sexually explicit images and videos. In June 2024, Lara-Salazar began using Snapchat to message the minor victim. Lara-Salazar demanded the minor victim send sexually explicit images and videos to him. Snapchat has a feature that causes images to disappear upon receipt. In some instances, the minor victim sent images to Lara-Salazar that were not retained or visible when law enforcement reviewed the account. Law enforcement later discovered that Lara-Salazar used Snapchat to communicate with three other minor females, who lived in Texas and elsewhere. He also coerced and enticed them to send sexually explicit images. This case is 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 justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page. Lara-Salazar faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years for Sexual Exploitation of a Child as well as up to lifetime supervised release and lifetime registration as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, and Frederick County State's Attorney's Office for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn and Special Assistant United States Attorney Joyce R. King who are prosecuting the federal case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and
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