Former Anne Arundel County Police Lt. James Cifala has copped a plea for the inappropriate relationship he had with a 16 year old girl. Cifala was a 27 year veteran of the Anne Arundel County Police Department and also owned the Rita’s Water Ice franchise in Edgewater along with his wife.
Yesterday, Cifala agreed to a plea bargain which will send him to federal prison for five years. He has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography while the other charges have been dropped.
If the plea agreement is accepted, he is expected to be sentenced on December 21, 2010.
Cifala was initially charged with having sex with and sending sexually explicit text messages to a 16 year old girl. The complaint also stated the teenage girl had also sent naked pictures to the officer. According to an affadavit, FBI agents conducted a search warrant of Cifala’s home on January 20, 2010 and observed furnishings that allegedly match the background of a sexually explicit photograph Cifala sent to the girl. At the time, the charges indicated that he was facing a 20 year prison sentence.
Eye On Annapolis covered this story extensively when it broke in January 2010.
