A Charles County jury convicted Dennis Demoine Smith, 65, of Nanjemoy, on 28 counts of use of a computer to depict minors in a sexual act and 237 counts of possession of child pornography following a three-day trial that concluded October 22, 2025. Tony Covington, Charles County state’s attorney, announced the verdict, which stemmed from an investigation triggered by cyber tips reporting uploads of child sexual abuse material to a cloud storage account linked to Smith’s phone number.
The case originated between January and April 2023, when the Charles County Sheriff’s Office received 14 reports through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline. These tips flagged files containing child sexual abuse material — defined under Maryland law as visual depictions of minors under 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct — uploaded to Verizon Cloud associated with Smith’s cellular service. Detectives from the sheriff’s office digital forensics unit reviewed the reports, which detailed hashes of known child exploitation images identified by automated tools scanning online platforms.
Investigators obtained a search and seizure warrant for Smith and his residence in the rural Nanjemoy area. During the execution of the warrant, authorities recovered multiple electronic devices, including smartphones and computers. A forensic analysis by the sheriff’s office uncovered hundreds of files depicting children under age 16 in abusive scenarios, violating Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 11-207, which prohibits the production, distribution or possession of such material.
Smith’s apprehension occurred November 19, 2024, after detectives identified him as the account holder. Further examination revealed 28 screen recordings that forensics experts attributed to Smith, capturing live streams or videos of minors in sexual acts — conduct prosecutable as “use of a computer to depict” under state statute. These elements elevated the charges, with each possession count carrying potential penalties of up to five years in prison and fines, while the depiction counts could add 10 years per offense. Combined, the convictions expose Smith to a maximum of 1,465 years incarceration, though judges typically impose concurrent terms guided by sentencing guidelines that consider factors like offender age and material volume.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 23, 2025, at 9 a.m. in Charles County Circuit Court. Covington’s office prosecuted the case, with Assistant State’s Attorney Julia Oliver handling trial arguments. The sheriff’s office led the probe under Chief Deputy Newton, emphasizing digital forensics capabilities developed since the early 2000s to address rising online exploitation reports.
The CyberTipline, operated by NCMEC since 1998, serves as a central reporting mechanism for suspected child exploitation, receiving over 36.2 million tips in 2023 alone from the public, tech companies and law enforcement. Reports undergo initial triage, with urgent cases forwarded to federal partners like the FBI or Homeland Security Investigations, while state-level tips like those in Charles County route directly to local agencies. In Maryland, the process integrates with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which coordinates across jurisdictions to trace uploads through IP addresses and account metadata.
Maryland’s framework against child pornography, enacted through the 1978 Child Pornography Prevention Act and updated via the 2018 Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act, classifies possession as a felony with mandatory minimums for repeat offenses. Distribution or creation triggers enhanced penalties, including lifetime sex offender registration under the state’s Sex Offender Registry Law. Devices seized in these cases undergo chain-of-custody protocols, with tools like EnCase software extracting deleted files — a method validated in federal courts and applied here to corroborate the 265 total counts.
Charles County’s response reflects broader Southern Maryland efforts, where the Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Association facilitates inter-county training on digital evidence. Nanjemoy, settled in the 1600s as a tobacco farming outpost, maintains a tight-knit fabric through sites like the Nanjemoy Community Center, which hosts senior programs and youth events funded by county grants. Such convictions underscore the hidden risks in isolated areas, where high-speed internet access has outpaced awareness campaigns.
For those encountering suspicious online activity, Maryland law requires immediate reporting to the CyberTipline or local authorities, with anonymity options available. Forensic preservation tips include avoiding device use post-suspicion to maintain evidence integrity. As the case advances to sentencing, it highlights the multi-agency chain — from tip receipt to courtroom — that safeguards minors across the region’s 500,000 residents.