17 August 2023- Jose Alexander Diaz-Rodriguez, age 23, of Thurmont, pleaded guilty today sexual exploitation of a child, after he broke into his neighbor’s home and took sexually explicit photographs of a child.
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; Chief Greg Eyler of the Thurmont Police Department; Chief Jason Landon of the Frederick Police Department; and Frederick County State’s Attorney J. Charles Smith, III.
According to his guilty plea, on July 26, 2021, Diaz-Rodriguez broke into his neighbor’s home and entered the bedroom where Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 were sleeping. Diaz-Rodriguez got into bed with Jane Doe 1, who was eight years old, and produced a series of four images intending to create sexually explicit images of Jane Doe 1. DNA from Diaz-Rodriguez was found on swabs from Jane Doe 1.
Jane Doe 1’s mother heard a noise and went into the room where she found Diaz-Rodriguez on the ground next to the bed. Diaz-Rodriguez fled and was arrested a short time later at his residence. A search warrant executed at his residence and his cell phone was seized. A forensic examination of the phone located over 1,000 files depicting the sexual abuse of children, including the four images of Jane Doe 1, which Diaz-Rodriguez had deleted prior to police arrival.
Diaz-Rodriguez further admitted that he distributed child sex abuse material on his social media account, specifically an image documenting the sexual abuse of a child.
As part of his plea agreement, upon his release from prison, Diaz-Rodriguez will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”).
Diaz-Rodriguez and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Diaz-Rodriguez will be sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for November 20, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.
