Patrick Wojahn, a former mayor of College Park in Prince George’s County, was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 140 charges related to child pornography.
The sentence, handed down at an emotional, hours-long hearing in Prince George’s Circuit Court, was part of a deal between Wojahn and prosecutors that was accepted by Judge Karen Mason, who commended the former mayor for taking ownership of the harm he had caused.
“I do sense the remorsefulness,” she said. “And I do know you take responsibility.” Under Maryland law, Wojahn will be eligible for parole in 7½ years.
The judge heard hours of victim impact statements read by prosecutors, as well as declarations of support from 16 people in the courtroom who spoke about Wojahn’s history of public service, before announcing the sentence. She cited Wojahn’s own past as a victim of sexual abuse, which he only recently shared with his family, as one reason she was referring him to the Patuxent Institution, a treatment-oriented maximum-security prison in Maryland.
Since Wojahn, 48, was first arrested earlier this year on allegations he possessed and distributed photos and videos depicting explicit child sex abuse — including the rape of prepubescent boys by adults — the close-knit College Park community and its former mayor’s regional network have been parsing through a series of complex emotions: Shock at the nature of the crimes. Confusion that Wojahn, a beloved public servant, would commit them. Anger over the consequences he would — or would not — face.
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Before police began investigating him, Wojahn had been mayor of College Park, home to the University of Maryland’s flagship campus, for seven years and had served on the City Council for eight years before that. He graduated from Georgetown University Law School and was an avid cyclist and staunch LGBTQ advocate — joining a lawsuit against the state of Maryland alongside his now-husband to make marriage a legal right for all in the state.
As an elected official, he advocated environmental and social justice issues in College Park, supported people with disabilities, and worked to unite the campus and the city.
But in court Monday, prosecutors said Wojahn had led a “double life,” his lengthy history of public good starkly contradicting his private conduct, which police said began in January, when Wojahn uploaded and shared dozens of photos and videos depicting child sex abuse to social media apps.
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The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed Prince George’s County police of the social media activity in mid-February, and 10 days later investigators obtained a warrant to search Wojahn’s College Park home. He waived his right to remain silent and told authorities that a Kik account that had posted the explicit content was his, police said in court documents. Additional images were later found on the social media app Telegram.
Police also said that Wojahn “advised that he has viewed and possessed files depicting child pornography,” according to court papers.
Wojahn was first indicted by a grand jury in March on 80 counts of possessing and intent to distribute child pornography, which were increased to 140 counts in a superseding indictment in May, according to online court records. In August, he pleaded guilty to all 140 counts: 60 of distribution of child pornography, 40 of possession of child pornography and 40 of possessing child pornography with the intent to distribute.
In court Monday, prosecutors Jessica Garth and Monica Meyers asked the judge to consider the impact Wojahn’s choices had on each child victimized in the hundreds of photos and videos he possessed and shared. About 52 of those children were identified by law enforcement officials in collaboration with the Justice Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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Prosecutors read the details of their cases, of the abuse they endured and the lifelong impact it has had on their emotional and physical health. Written statements from those victims — some of whom are now adults — were shared with the court, as well as testimonies from their parents and guardians. They shared their struggles with extreme anxiety, paranoia, poor sleep, trust issues and a sense of safety. Some said that people who know them from their online exploitation stalk them in real life. One woman, now married and with her own children, said she was forced to move and shut down her social media after her identity was discovered.
Nearly all of the victims said they feel re-victimized, as though their abuse were happening all over again, each time they learn someone new has viewed the explicit images taken of them as children.
“This is not a victimless crime,” Meyers said.
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When Wojahn’s supporters began to talk, he pivoted in his seat to face them. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit from the Calvert County jail, where he has been held since his arrest, he wept through all 16 speeches — growing the most emotional as his mother, sister and husband spoke. Many who addressed the judge on his behalf did so in an attempt to get his prison time reduced. They all acknowledged he should face accountability for his crimes, but urged the judge to focus on a path that centered on healing, not just punishment. They accused prosecutors of asking for a much higher sentence than what others who did the same or worse in Prince George’s County have faced.
Before he was sentenced to a total of 150 years, with all but 30 years suspended, Wojahn stood and publicly addressed the charges against him for the first time.
He apologized to the children who were sexually abused: “I know I contributed to that, and I’m deeply, deeply sorry … I recognize the damage I have caused.” He apologized to the College Park community: “I want to be the person they know me to be.” He apologized to his family, turning to his husband, who moments before had affirmed his love for Wojahn: “I love you, too, very much.”
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He said he didn’t understand how he’d gotten here, listing off a series of life stressors and traumas that may have triggered an addiction inside him — including his own childhood sex abuse, the recent death of his father and the chronic stress of his job. “None of these things excuses or justifies the things I have done,” he said.
He vowed to do the work he needs to do to get better, to understand how, in his words, he went from someone seeking justice for others to victimizing those most powerless in society.
And to the judge, he said: “I should have gotten help long ago. I’m ready to accept my sentence.”
Jasmine Hilton and Lateshia Beachum contributed to this report.
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