Baltimore SWAT Officer Donald Hildebrandt Charged With Child Porn Possession, Production and Obstruction Of Justice
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Baltimore Police SWAT officer is facing federal charges for possession and production of child pornography and for obstruction of justice.
A federal criminal complaint was filed charging 51-year-old Donald Hildebrandt of Bel Air after numerous videos and images of child sex abuse were allegedly found on his laptop and iCloud even after he reportedly deleted them.
Hildebrandt is a SWAT officer with Baltimore City Police and is currently suspended without pay.
The criminal complaint, which was filed on October 18, 2020, stated Hildebrandt was found inside a room with a minor female with his genitalia exposed.
Another child reported the incident. During an interview with Harford County Child Advocacy Center, one of the victims told authorities that Hildebrandt exposed himself to her and demanded she engage in sexually explicit activity.
A search warrant was executed at his home on Oct. 20, 2020, and several electronic devices were seized. A forensic examiner decrypted a file on Hildebrandt's laptop and found videos that documented the sexual abuse of a young girl.
Another three-hour-long video showed the abuse of multiple children and more than 100 screenshots from covert video recordings were also found.
A witness told investigators that Hildebrandt reset his tablet in Jan. 2021. Another forensic review of the previously seized tablet showed signs consistent with a factory rests. However, analysts found more child porn in his iCloud.
If convicted, Hildebrandt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for production of child pornography; a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography; and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for obstruction of justice.
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