A Biden administration-linked Democrat former Maryland mayor has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for horrific child pornography charges.
Patrick Wojahn, also a well-known LGBTQ activist, was convicted earlier this year in a heinous child porn case.
Wojahn, who resigned as mayor of College Park, Maryland, on March 2 before his arrest, pleaded guilty to 140 charges related to child pornography as part of a deal struck with prosecutors.
As Slay News reported earlier this year, the Prince George’s County police department arrested Wojahn soon after they discovered he was operating a social media account distributing pornography.
At the time of Wojahn’s arrest, the city put out a statement that said:
“The City of College Park was made aware this morning of former Mayor Patrick Wojahn’s arrest by Prince George’s County Police and the charges that have been filed.
“We are shocked and disturbed by the news; what has come to light in this investigation is a total surprise to us.”
In 2019, the Washington Blade reported that “Pete Buttigieg has mentored Patrick Wojahn over the years.”
Local College Park news outlet Diamond Back further reported that Wojahn received important advice from Buttigieg.
The two Democrats even went out for beers in Riverdale, Maryland, the report noted.
Along with Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama, Wojahn also rubbed shoulders with high-profile Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Before his arrest, Wojahn, who served as mayor from 2015-2023, had close relationships with prominent Democrats such as President Joe Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
He was sentenced to 150 years total, with all but 30 years suspended.
Nevertheless, the child predator still will be eligible for parole in 7.5 years under state law, The Washington Post reported.
The conviction came after investigators linked an account sharing illicit images to his government email address.
“I do sense the remorsefulness,” Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Karen Mason said of Wojahn on Monday during an emotional hearing when prosecutors read hours of victim impact statements.
“And I do know you take responsibility.”
Authorities say the 48-year-old uploaded and shared dozens of photos and videos depicting explicit child sex abuse, including the rape of prepubescent boys by adults, to social media apps in January, The Post reported.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the Prince George’s County Police Department of the social media activity in mid-February.
Through their investigation, police determined a social media account with the screen name “skippy_md” belonged to Wojahn, FOX 5 DC reported.
By means of a subpoena, investigators found that Wojahn’s College Park government email address was listed as the recovery email for the Kik account.
Wojahn’s phone number and home IP address were linked to the account, according to authorities, who say the ex-mayor used a virtual private network to mask his location when accessing the account.
More explicit images were also found on the social media app Telegram.
Court records show Wojahn was indicted in March by a grand jury on 80 counts of possessing and intent to distribute child pornography.
The charges were amplified to 140 counts in May through a superseding indictment.
He pleaded guilty in August to all 60 counts of distribution of child pornography, 40 of possession of child pornography, and 40 of possessing child pornography with the intent to distribute.
Of those kids depicted in the hundreds of photos and videos Wojahn possessed and shared, law enforcement identified 52 child victims, some of whom are now adults, in collaboration with the Justice Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Their victim impact statements read in court detailed struggles with extreme anxiety, paranoia, poor sleep, trust issues, and a sense of safety, and some said they have been stalked and forced to move their current families and children of their own after being exposed as victims of online child exploitation.
The judge cited Wojahn’s own past as a victim of sexual abuse and also heard declarations of support from 16 people in the courtroom who spoke about Wojahn’s history of public service before deciding to refer the former mayor to the Patuxent Institution, a treatment-oriented maximum-security prison in Maryland.
Wojahn himself addressed the courtroom Monday to apologize.
“I know I contributed to that, and I’m deeply, deeply sorry … I recognize the damage I have caused,” he said, according to the Post.
“I want to be the person they know me to be,” he said to the community.
Wojahn, a staunch LGBTQ advocate and graduate of Georgetown University Law School who joined a lawsuit with his now-husband against the state of Maryland in 2006 to make marriage a right for same-sex couples in the state, had served on the College Park City Council for eight years until he was elected mayor in November 2015.
He served in that role for seven years until his resignation earlier this year.
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