Scott Keith Baldwin Jr., 58, a dual resident of San Jose, California, and Reston, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

According to court documents, Baldwin Jr. was an active member of an invite-only online group on an encrypted messaging platform dedicated to sharing live links and files of CSAM. Around July 2024, following an online investigation into the group where law enforcement agents identified Baldwin as a member, agents executed a residential search warrant at Baldwin’s home in San Jose. A hard drive seized from this residence was found to contain images and videos from over 150 known child exploitation series, including images of prepubescent minors.

Baldwin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute CSAM. Sentencing is set for Jan. 12, 2027. Baldwin faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California; and FBI Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case. 

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit investigated the case, with substantial assistance from both the FBI Washington, D.C. and San Francisco Field Offices. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.