Former MPD Officer Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Traveling to the District of Columbia to Have Sex With a Minor

Washington, D.C. – A 40-year-old former Metropolitan Police Department Officer, Kenneth Longerbeam, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for traveling to the District of Columbia in order to have sex with a minor in December 2007, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Washington Field Office, and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today.

Longerbeam received his sentence earlier today in U.S. District Court before Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan, after pleading guilty in February 2008. The defendant is also subject to ten years of highly restrictive supervised release when he is released from prison, and he will have to register as a sex offender. As part of the plea agreement, Longerbeam was required to resign from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The conviction is the result of an undercover investigation conducted by the FBI/MPD’s District of Columbia Innocent Images Task Force.

In fashioning its sentence and stating that there was an apparent low risk of recidivism in this case, the Court noted it was aware that the abuse and sexual abuse of children had become an “epidemic.”

“Today’s 36-month prison sentence is significant and appropriate given the gravity of this offense, where a sworn law enforcement officer sought to engage in illicit and high-risk sexual conduct with a fourteen-year old child,” stated U.S. Attorney Taylor. “We must remain vigilant in our efforts to protect our children from those who wish to do harm to the most precious, yet vulnerable members of our community.”

“Every Officer is sworn to uphold the law and to protect every citizen, especially those who are most innocent, our children,” said Chief Lanier. “Officer Longerbeam’s actions are reprehensible and I am pleased with the Court’s decision.”

“The children in our community are entitled to feel safe at home and outside their residences,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini. “The FBI remains dedicated in its pursuit of those individuals who attempt to take away that entitlement by causing harm to our children or conspiring to abuse them.”

At the time of his guilty plea, the defendant acknowledged that on December 18, 2007, he received a text message from a friend who informed the defendant that he had a boy coming over and that he was going to engage in sex with the child. During the ensuing exchange of text messages, the defendant asked how old the child was and was told that the child was 14 years old. After the defendant’s friend stated that he was going to have sex with the child, the defendant asked whether the boy was “into 3 ways.” When the friend told the defendant that the child was into “3-ways”, the defendant responded: “Kool, when can I join?”

The defendant subsequently traveled from the State of Maryland into the District of Columbia to serve his tour of duty at the Metropolitan Police Department’s Fourth District. When the defendant completed his tour, he traveled to his friend’s house to have sex with the child. The defendant was arrested by task force members at that time.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood and the Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Link

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, and MPD Chief Lanier praised the quick action and investigative work of the members of the Innocent Images Task Force, including MPD Detectives Timothy Palchak, Jonathan Andrews, Morani Hines, Miguel Miranda, Sergeant James McGuire, and Lieutenant Patricia Williams, and FBI Special Agents Scott Schelbe, Michael French, David Solis, Jill Blackman, Daniel Bradley, Chadwick Elegersma, and Chad Gallagher. Lastly, they commended Assistant U.S. Attorney John Cummings, who prosecuted this case.