Baltimore, Maryland – Chukwuemeka Ekwonna, age 29, of Glenn Dale, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to two counts of Sex Trafficking of a Minor. Between October 2016 and February 2017, Ekwonna, who at the time was a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C., engaged in sexual conduct with two girls, who were 14 and 15 years old, in exchange for money.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Acting Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Timothy Altomare of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; and Anne Colt Leitess of the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“Police officers are sworn to protect our communities, not prey on our youth,” said U.S. Attorney Hur. “We will continue to work with our partners to bring traffickers to justice and protect our most vulnerable.”
According to the plea agreement, beginning on or about January 24, 2016, Ekwonna worked as a police officer with MPD in Washington, D.C. Since 2010, Ekwonna has used an account on Tagged, a social media and dating platform that allows users to search for others based on location and to engage in real-time chat.
Between December 19, 2016, and April 5, 2017, Ekwonna exchanged approximately 200 text and Tagged messages with a 14-year-old girl (referenced in the plea agreement as “Girl 1”). On several occasions, Ekwonna offered to pay Girl 1 to engage in sex acts with him. Ekwonna met with Girl 1 and engaged in sex acts with her on at least five occasions, between October 18, 2016, and February 15, 2017. Ekwonna engaged in illegal sex with the underage girl in different locations in the Annapolis area, including in motel rooms and Ekwonna’s vehicle. Ekwonna typically paid Girl 1 between $30 and $40 to have sex with him. Messages between Ekwonna and the 14-year-old girl suggest that she was aware that Ekwonna was a police officer.
On January 9, 2017, Ekwonna exchanged approximately 54 Tagged messages with a second underage girl, who was 15 years old at the time (referenced in the plea agreement as “Girl 2”). In these messages, Ekwonna offered to pay the 15-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with him. Ekwonna met Girl 2 in Glen Burnie, where he gave her $80 and engaged in sex acts with her in the back of his car.
Both victims were students in the ninth grade at the time of the offenses.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Ekwonna faces a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 years in prison. He also will face no fewer than five years of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.
