Harford County Registered Sex Offender Indicted on Child Sex Crimes

Baltimore, Maryland - The U.S. Attorney's Office announced, today, that a federal grand jury indicted a Harford County man in connection with child sexual abuse charges spanning across three states.

Jason Alex Candelaria, 34, of Darlington, Maryland, is charged with production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), online coercion and enticement, and possession of CSAM. In 2017, Candelaria was previously convicted in the State of Maryland of third-degree sexual offenses and was a registered sex offender during the time frame alleged in the indictment.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Todd Bratz, United States Secret Service (USSS) CID Washington, D.C., and Colonel Michael A. Jackson, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police (MSP).

According to the indictment, between November and December 2025, Candelaria used several social media platforms to communicate with minors from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Candelaria then coerced and enticed the minors to produce explicit videos of themselves which he surreptitiously recorded. In some instances, Candelaria also traveled to the minor victims' homes to engage in sex acts. Candelaria also recorded some of the sex acts with the minor victims. Authorities later uncovered the videos on Candelaria's cell phones.

If convicted, Candelaria is facing a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 50 years in federal prison for production of CSAM, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life for online coercion and enticement, and a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years for possession of CSAM.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the USSS and MSP for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md.

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