Baltimore Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher sentenced Zachary Anthony Campbell, 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 30 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for two counts of sexually exploiting a minor.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD), and Chief Charles J. Herring, Towson University Police Department (TUPD).

According to his guilty plea, Campbell sexually abused an 11-year-old victim. On two occasions, in October 2023 and February 2024, Campbell recorded a video of himself sexually abusing the victim who appeared to be sleeping. Additionally, on five occasions in 2023 and 2024, Campbell placed a hidden camera in a bathroom and recorded videos of the victim in various stages of undressing. Campbell saved the sexual-exploitation videos on his phone.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, BPD, and TUPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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