Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) attorney Mark Black, 50, of Arlington, Virginia, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in sexually exploiting numerous children.
According to court documents, Black was part of online groups dedicated to persuading prepubescent girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Black and his co-conspirators recorded these acts and shared the videos among themselves. In one instance, Black induced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct on a live-streaming application while another minor was groomed to do the same on a photo- and video-sharing application.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber, Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Shimon Richmond of the FDIC Office of Inspector General announced the sentencing.
Black's electronic devices were discovered to contain a significant number of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) images, with over 1,300 files depicting identified victims of his actions.
Black, who formerly served as the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC) board president, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor. The case was investigated by the FBI and FDIC-OIG, with Trial Attorneys McKenzie Hightower, Kaylynn Foulon, and James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Halper for the Eastern District of Virginia handling the prosecution.
This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by leveraging federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online.