In separate incidents, Anne Arundel County police have arrested two men and charged each with possession and distribution of child pornography.
Annapolis, Daniel Burkhard
In October 2016, the Anne Arundel County Child Abuse Unit initiated investigations into the distribution of child pornography. During one investigation evidence was developed by detectives that led to a search warrant being served at the suspect’s home in November, 2016. The search warrant was executed in the 700 block of Warren Drive, Annapolis Maryland where a computer was recovered belonging to Daniel Kenneth Burkhard.
The Anne Arundel County Police Digital Forensics Lab conducted a forensic examination of Daniel Burkhard’s computer. During the examination of the computer the Digital Forensics Lab recovered multiple files in regards to child pornography. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Daniel Kenneth Burkhard, a forty year old male from the 700 block of Warren Drive, Annapolis, Maryland with multiple counts of distributing and possessing child pornography. On Friday, Janaury 13, 2017, Daniel Burkhard, a forty year old male from the 700 block of Warren Drive, Annapolis, Maryland was booked and processed on the arrest warrant.
Edgewater, Robert Schmitt
In October 2016, the Anne Arundel County Police Child Abuse Unit launched an investigation into another complaint of child pornography. The investigation was initiated after the Child Abuse Unit received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The cybertip indicated a resident of the 4000 block of Kings Road, Edgewater, Maryland was uploading images of child pornography to a social media account.
As detectives pursued leads they identified a suspect as being Robert Patrick Schmitt, a twenty-five year old male from the 4000 block of Kings Road, Edgewater, Maryland. In December 2016, the Child Abuse Unit executed a search warrant at Robert Schmitt’s residence in which a computer was seized. The Anne Arundel County Digital Forensics Lab conducted a forensic examination of Mr. Schmitt’s computer and discovered multiple images of child pornography.
Child Abuse Detectives obtained an arrest warrant and on Monday, January 16, 2017 Robert Schmitt was taken into custody without incident. Robert Schmitt was booked and processed on the warrant charging him with multiple counts of distributing and possessing child pornography.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department is an affiliate of the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), which is comprised of police agencies from around the state. Its primary mission is to protect children from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation. The Task Force works cooperatively with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to provide resources to combat these crimes. Additionally, the Task Force provides community awareness campaigns helping to prevent the spread of these crimes through education.
