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Former College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn pleaded guilty Wednesday to 140 counts of child pornography charges.
Wojahn faced 40 counts of possession and 100 counts of promotion or distribution of child pornography. The offenses occurred in January and February.
The 100 counts of promotion or distribution include 60 counts of distribution and 40 counts of possession with the intent to distribute. Wojahn was initially arrested on 56 counts of child pornography and was indicted on 80 counts in March.
Wojahn will serve, according to the plea deal, 30 years in prison and be eligible for parole after 7.5 years. The former mayor’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 20.
The 30-year sentence will be one of the largest ones handed down in a Prince George’s County courthouse for a case like this, assistant state’s attorney Jessica Garth said Wednesday after the sentencing.
According to the plea deal, Wojahn will register as a tier two sex offender, receive mental health treatment and be barred from holding a job or volunteering with children after serving his sentence. He will also serve five years of probation.
Investigators found 1,500 videos and images depicting child sex abuse material on Wojahn’s devices, Garth said. The state also found more than 200 instances of distribution by Wojahn through social media accounts on Kik and Telegram, Garth added.
“This is a horrific case,” Prince George’s County state’s attorney Aisha Braveboy said in a statement Wednesday. “I am truly pleased that Mr. Wojahn has pled 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.”
The findings stem from a preliminary investigation in February when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted the Prince George’s County Police Department of a Kik account, later linked to the former mayor’s city email address, that had possessed child sex abuse material.
Wojahn was arrested on March 2, the day after he resigned as College Park’s mayor, a position he had held since 2015. Before becoming mayor, Wojahn served as a District 1 city council member from 2007 to 2015.
Since his arrest, Wojahn has been held in jail following a rejected bond request on March 6.