The former mayor of College Park, Maryland, has pled guilty to 140 counts that are related to child pornography.
The former mayor, according to the New York Times, is 47-year-old Patrick Wojahn (D), an openly gay man. He had been mayor since 2015, and, before that, he was a city council member.
Wojhan entered his guilty plea in Prince George’s County Circuit Court on Wednesday as part of an agreement that he reached with prosecutors.
The plea deal means that Wojahn will serve nowhere near as much time behind bars as he could have.
In March, just before being arrested, Wojahn resigned from his government position. And, in that resignation letter, he revealed that a search warrant had been conducted on his home.
Wojahn wrote:
On February 28, 2023, a search warrant was executed on my residence as part of an ongoing police investigation. I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement. I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health.
Not long thereafter the Prince George’s Police Department (PGPD) announced, according to the Daily Wire, that "the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children had notified them that a social media account operating in the county possessed and distributed suspected child pornography."
The police further revealed that they had discovered that the account belonged to Wojahn.
As the investigation continued, police found more and more child pornography on Wojahn's devices and accounts. They ended up arresting him and charging him with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material. But, many more charges would be added.
As part of the plea agreement, Wojahn pled guilty to 140 counts: 60 counts of distribution of the sexual abuse imagery, 40 counts of possession with intent to distribute, and 40 counts of possession.
Although he was facing hundreds of years behind bars, Wojahn, as part of the plea agreement, agreed to a 150-year sentence. But, he only has to serve 30 years of this sentence behind bars and he will be eligible for parole after only seven and a half years.
When Wojahn is released from prison, as part of the plea agreement, he will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years and serve five years of probation.
Prince George's County State Attorney Aisha Braveboy has released a statement on the matter.
Braveboy said:
I am truly pleased that Mr. Wojahn has [pleaded] guilty and accepted responsibility for his actions and these horrendous crimes. As a former elected official, the College Park community put its faith and support in him to serve each resident and their best interests. Instead, he let them down in a most disgraceful way.
