Bel Air Man Sent Pics Of Girls Using His Bathroom To Sex Traffickers: Prosecutor

BEL AIR, MD — A 38-year-old Bel Air man has pleaded guilty in an incident where he used a hidden camera to produce sexually explicit images of five minor girls while they used a bathroom in his home. He then sent those photos to sex traffickers.

According to his plea agreement, the incident happened between April and November 2020. During that same time, Charles F. Wheat, III, was communicating with three female sex traffickers in the Philippines. Wheat paid the sex traffickers in exchange for them sending him images and videos of minors being sexually exploited.

Wheat sent sexually explicit images he produced of three of the minor female victims to two of the Filipino women involved in sex trafficking. One of the women who received images also was depicted in several videos found on Wheat’s phone engaged in sexual conduct with a prepubescent boy. Some of the videos also show a prepubescent girl whom the woman encourages to engage in sex acts with the boy, according to court documents.

Wheat faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for production of child pornography. His sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 17, 2024, at 10:30 a.m.

As detailed in the plea agreement, upon his release from prison, Wheat also will be required to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides, where he is an employee and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.