Fort Meade Man Convicted for Enticing Minor for Sex

FORT MEADE, MD — A man who responded to an ad placed by police posing as a 13-year-old girl faces a maximum punishment of life in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

A federal jury on Feb. 11 convicted Pedro Antonio Del Granado, 49, of Fort Meade, for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from Oct. 23-30, 2014, Del Granado used email messages to attempt to entice a person whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity. In fact, Del Granado was communicating with an undercover Baltimore County Police detective posing as the girl.

Witnesses testified that Del Granado responded to an online ad the detective placed. Prosecutors say Del Granado asked about meeting the 13-year-old girl and discussed what they would do at that time, including specific sex acts.

Once Del Granado and the undercover detective agreed to meet, police arrested Del Granado when he arrived at the location the officer had named. A cell phone containing most of the emails between Del Granado and the undercover detective was found in his vehicle.

When he was arrested, Del Granado told police that he was there to meet a 20-year-old woman, even though the emails from the undercover detective said the girl was 13 years old.

Del Granado faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. He is scheduled for sentencing on May 13.