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Silver Spring resident Joseph Ruben Baer was arrested over the weekend following an investigation that determined he allegedly distributed video files depicting the sexual exploitation of underage boys through a social media app.
According to prosecutors, early this year, a member of the FBI–Metropolitan Police Department Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force was monitoring an app in an undercover capacity after learning it had been used by some "who have a sexual interest in children."
The undercover agent got in touch with Baer, who sent a message believing he was communicating with a pedophile, they said.
Officials said that Baer then expressed an interest in the sexual exploitation of prepubescent boys and later sent the undercover agent two videos through the app.
Those files, it is alleged, depicted Baer masturbating while watching child pornography on a laptop computer.
In late April, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Baer with one count of distribution of child pornography.
On Friday, police executed search warrants at two residences connected to Baer in Silver Spring, leading to his arrest in the District of Columbia, officials say.
He made his initial court appearance in US District Court and was ordered to b held without bond pending his trial.
If convicted on the distribution of child pornography charge, Baer will face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a max of up to 20 years behind bars.
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