BALTIMORE, MD—A Maryland woman has pleaded guilty to federal charges of a sexually abusing a young child.

Summer Nichole McCroskey, 25, of Elkton, has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to her participation in a conspiracy to sexually abuse a child, from the age of approximately four months to two years old, to producing and distributing images documenting the sexual abuse of the child, and to possession of child pornography.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Cecil County State’s Attorney James Dellmyer; and Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams.

At her plea hearing, McCroskey admitted that she and her co-conspirator sexually abused a child, starting at the time the victim was approximately four months of age through at least October 2021, when the victim was two years old, and produced videos and images of the abuse. The abuse included oral, vaginal, and anal penetration, as well as bondage, and both McCroskey and her co-conspirator participated in the abuse. Additionally, McCroskey distributed the files documenting the sexual abuse of the child to her co-conspirator and others using an encrypted messaging application.

McCroskey faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and for each of seven counts of sexual exploitation of a child; a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of five counts of distribution of child pornography; and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each of three counts of possession of child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for McCroskey on May 18, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.

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