Laurel Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography

A Laurel man pled guilty to receiving child pornography Monday at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, prosecutors said.

Larry Poole, 50, admitted to accepting explicit images of girls under 14 on his computer and phone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.

As described in his plea agreement, prosecutors said Child Protective Services received a report on June 11, 2012 that Poole "was sending text messages claiming to be molesting an unidentified nine year old girl."

Officials referred the matter to Laurel Police Department, which was reportedly unable to locate any child in Poole's neighborhood matching the description in his texts.

But the LPD later learned that Poole was on federal probation, prosecutors said, and that he was registered as a sex offender for convictions of child abuse (2003), attempting to entice a minor to engage in sex (2006), and possession of child pornography (2006).

Investigators notified Poole's probation officer, who conducted a surprise visit to his home on June 25. He allowed the officer to view his phone, where the officer allegedly found images and videos of child pornography.

"Poole admitted that an individual brought child pornography to Poole’s home the previous day on a thumb drive or SD card and helped Poole load pornographic images of girls under 14 years old onto Poole’s computer and cell phone," prosecutors said in a statement.

Investigators from the FBI and Laurel police executed a search warrant of his home, where they reportedly discovered six videos and 120 images of child pornography on digital devices.

If his plea is accepted by the court, Poole and prosecutors have agreed that he will be sentenced to 15 years in prison and be forced to register as a sex offender.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 24 at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow.