County Firefighter Charged with Producing, Possessing Child Porn

A Baltimore County Fire Department firefighter was indicted this week on three counts of producing and possessing child pornography.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Anthony Maurice Cottle, 23, who was a firefighter for the Baltimore County Fire Department, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.

The three-count indictment states that, in June and July, Cottle "coerced two minor males to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce two videos."

And, on Sept. 28, "Cottle was in possession of the videos and other images of child pornography," it states.

According to the release, Cottle was held at U.S. District Court during his initial appearance on Thursday, and on Friday a U.S. magistrate ordered him detained pending trial.

Court records state that his criminal court trial is set for 9:15 a.m. Feb. 6.

According to the release, he faces 15 to 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for each of the two counts of producing child pornography. In addition, he faces 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography.

"An indictment is not a finding of guilt," the release states. "An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.