Maryland Man Indicted on 15 Federal Counts Over Alleged Overseas Child Exploitation

Overview

• A federal grand jury indicted Philip Andrew Turner, 46, of Linthicum Heights on charges including sexual exploitation, online coercion and enticement, receipt, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
• Prosecutors allege he used online accounts to connect with traffickers in the Philippines, negotiated payments, chose children and acts to view, received abuse images he saved online, and possessed additional material on a laptop.
• The investigation is being pursued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with HSI, Maryland State Police, and Anne Arundel County prosecutors under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, following related state charges filed in October.
• Turner remains detained, with an initial federal appearance scheduled for Dec. 3 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before Judge Chelsea J. Crawford.
• If convicted of sexual exploitation counts, he faces mandatory minimum 15-year terms and up to 30 years per count, with prosecutors emphasizing that an indictment is not a finding of guilt.