Child Pornography Charges Filed Against Odenton, Severn Men

ODENTON, MD – Two men from Odenton and Severn have been arrested by the Anne Arundel County Police Department on charges of possession of child pornography in two separate cases. The police department urges anyone with information about the two men and the incidents leading up to their arrests to contact the Anne Arundel County Child Abuse Unit immediately.

According to police reports, on Dec. 4, 2018, the Anne Arundel County Police Child Abuse Unit began investigating a report of a suspect uploading child pornographic images to a particular internet site. The information was also provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Child abuse detectives served several subpoenas and search warrants in an effort to identify the perpetrator.

On March 15, 2019, detectives executed a search and seizure warrant at an address in the 300 block of Baldwin Road in Odenton. The suspect, identified as Christopher John Edwards, a 26-year-old man of the same address, was on the scene and interviewed. Several electronic items were seized and later examined by the Anne Arundel County Digital Forensic Unit.

The forensic download of the suspect's electronic devices provided detectives with corroborating evidence, the police report stated. On May 16, 2019, child abuse detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Edwards for possession of child pornography. On May 17, 2019, Edwards was located at his address and taken into custody without incident.

In a separate case, on Jan. 22, 2019, the Anne Arundel County Police Child Abuse Unit began an investigation in reference to a report that an unidentified suspect was using an account associated with uploading child pornographic images to a particular internet site. The information also was provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Child abuse detectives again served several subpoenas and search warrants in an effort to identify the perpetrator.

On April 5, 2019, detectives executed a search and seizure warrant at an address in the 8000 block of Wayne Road in Severn. The suspect, identified as Nicholas Benjamin Hittle, 39, of the same address, was on the scene and interviewed. Several electronic items were seized and later examined by the Anne Arundel County Digital Forensics Unit.

During the interview, Hittle reportedly admitted that he had received specific images of child pornography that were the basis of the investigation but still needed to be forensically verified. Hittle is registered in Maryland as a Tier 2 sex offender. He also told investigators his place of employment, his email address and his social media account had not been disclosed to the Maryland Sex Offender Registry, which is mandated. Hittle was charged on April 10, 2019, for the Maryland Registry violations, the police report stated.

The forensic download of the suspect's electronic devices provided detectives with corroborating evidence of child pornography. On May 15, 2019, Child Abuse detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Nicholas Hittle in reference to the possession of child pornography. The suspect was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography. On May 16, 2019, Hittle was located in the 8000 block of Wayne Road and taken into custody without incident.

Anyone with information about these two cases is encouraged to contact the Anne Arundel County Child Abuse Unit at 410-222-4733 or the Anne Arundel County Tip Line at 410-222-4700.