A former Maryland mayor connected to the Biden administration and a Democrat, Patrick Wojahn, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for severe child pornography charges. Wojahn, also known for his LGBTQ activism, was convicted earlier this year in a disturbing child porn case.
He resigned as the mayor of College Park, Maryland, on March 2, just before his arrest. Wojahn entered a guilty plea to 140 charges related to child pornography as part of a deal with prosecutors. His arrest followed the discovery by the Prince George’s County police department that he was operating a social media account distributing pornography.
The city put out a statement saying:
“The City of College Park was made aware this morning of former Mayor Patrick Wojahn’s arrest by Prince George’s County Police and the charges that have been filed.
“We are shocked and disturbed by the news; what has come to light in this investigation is a total surprise to us.”
In 2019, the Washington Blade reported that Patrick Wojahn had received mentorship from Pete Buttigieg over the years. Local news outlet Diamond Back in College Park also stated that Wojahn benefited from valuable advice provided by Buttigieg, and the two Democrats were even seen having beers together in Riverdale, Maryland.
Alongside notable figures like Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama, Wojahn had connections with prominent Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Before his arrest, Wojahn, who served as mayor from 2015 to 2023, maintained close relationships with influential Democrats such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. He has been sentenced to a total of 150 years, with all but 30 years suspended. Despite this, Wojahn remains eligible for parole in 7.5 years under state law. The conviction stemmed from investigators tracing an account sharing explicit images back to his government email address.
“I do sense the remorsefulness,” Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Karen Mason said of Wojahn on Monday during an emotional hearing when prosecutors read hours of victim impact statements.
“And I do know you take responsibility.”
Authorities allege that the 48-year-old individual uploaded and shared numerous explicit photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse, including the assault of prepubescent boys by adults, on social media apps in January, as reported by The Post. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed the Prince George’s County Police Department of this social media activity in mid-February. Through their investigation, the police identified the social media account with the screen name “skippy_md” as belonging to Wojahn, according to FOX 5 DC.
With a subpoena, investigators discovered that Wojahn’s College Park government email address was associated with the Kik account’s recovery email. Authorities found connections between Wojahn’s phone number and home IP address to the account. The former mayor allegedly used a virtual private network to conceal his location while accessing the account. More explicit images were also discovered on the social media app Telegram. Court records reveal that Wojahn was indicted in March on 80 counts related to possessing and intending to distribute child pornography. These charges were later increased to 140 counts through a superseding indictment in May.
In August, Wojahn pleaded guilty to all 60 counts of distributing child pornography, 40 counts of possessing child pornography, and 40 counts of possessing child pornography with the intent to distribute. The hundreds of photos and videos he possessed and shared depicted children, and law enforcement identified 52 child victims, some now adults, in collaboration with the Justice Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
During the court proceedings, victim impact statements were read, detailing struggles faced by the victims, including extreme anxiety, paranoia, sleep issues, trust problems, a diminished sense of safety, and instances of stalking. Some victims reported having to relocate their families and children due to being exposed as victims of online child exploitation.
Considering Wojahn’s past as a victim of sexual abuse, the judge heard declarations of support from 16 individuals in the courtroom who spoke about Wojahn’s history of public service. Despite this, the judge decided to refer the former mayor to the Patuxent Institution, a treatment-oriented maximum-security prison in Maryland.
Wojahn addressed the courtroom to apologize, acknowledging the harm he caused. He expressed a desire to be the person the community knew him to be. A staunch LGBTQ advocate and Georgetown University Law School graduate, Wojahn, along with his now-husband, joined a lawsuit against the state of Maryland in 2006 to establish marriage rights for same-sex couples. He served on the College Park City Council for eight years before being elected mayor in November 2015, a position he held for seven years until his resignation earlier this year.
