Baltimore, Maryland: Friday, June 4 the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced that 51-year-old Donald Hildebrandt, a member of the Baltimore City Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, has been indicted on federal charges for obstruction of justice, production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
Hildebrandt has been suspended without pay from the police department.
The release disclosed that "on October 18, 2020 law enforcement received a complaint that Donald Hildebrandt had been discovered in a room with a minor female with his erect penis exposed." The incident was reported by another minor.
The indictment alleges that Hildebrandt attempted to obstruct justice by resetting his tablet in January 2021. A forensic review of the tablet, which had previously been investigated, showed signs of a factory reset.
Within notes stored to Hildebrandt's iCloud account, investigators reportedly discovered a web address to "an anonymous communication network" which "opened to a child pornography website. Purportedly, the website allowed customers to anonymously purchase child pornography with cryptocurrency."
The indictment also alleges that Hildebrandt secreted a camera into a bathroom that he knew was used by three minor females and that he positioned the camera in such a way as to capture them "exiting the shower and drying off with towels."
"Hildebrandt allegedly created nude images of two prepubescent females" and was found to be in possession of "at least two videos," one of which was "over two and a half hours in length" depicting child pornography and child sexual abuse.
If convicted on the charge of production of child pornography Hildebrandt faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, and a maximum of 30 years.
On the charge of possession of child pornography the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison, and a maximum of 20 years for obstruction of justice.