Former school employee, Md. man sentenced in separate child sex cases

Friday, Dec. 19, 2008

As part of his plea agreement, Frank Corrigan Conahan, 47, of Waldorf admitted to sending between 10 and 150 images of child pornography to a trader of child pornography in Ohio, according to a U.S. District Court press release.

FBI agents identified Conahan as the person who from May to October 2007 sent 33 e-mails containing images of sexual child abuse, according to the press release. In July 2008, agents searched Conahan's home, and he admitted he e-mailed child pornography to Internet users whom he met in chat rooms, according to the press release.

Conahan resigned from his job as a behavioral specialist with Charles County schools when the agents searched his home. School officials earlier said Conahan did not have one-on-one contact with students in the school system.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Conahan to 10 years of supervised release in addition to the five-year prison term. Chasanow also ordered that he have no unsupervised contact with minors and no access to the Internet without written approval and monitoring by his probation office. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release.

Man gets one year

in sex offense case

A Gaithersburg man charged with molesting an 8-year-old girl was sentenced to one year in jail Tuesday in Charles County Circuit Court.

Edward Stanley Stewart III, 23, entered an Alford plea — not admitting guilt, but acknowledging the state had enough evidence to convict him — Oct. 16 to one count of third-degree sex offense. According to the terms of the plea agreement forged between the state and Stewart's attorney, he would serve no more than one year of active incarceration, and prosecutors would dismiss the other charges against him in the case.

Before the sentencing, Stewart read aloud to the court a letter he had written, saying his life "started to spiral out of control" after his mother died about a year and a half ago, and he started drinking heavily.

"I apologize for the life I was living under the influence," said Stewart, who didn't specifically mention the victim in his speech.

Charles County Deputy State's Attorney Anthony B. Covington didn't let the fact go unnoticed.

"It's shocking, to me, at least. It's like she doesn't even exist," Covington said.

In response, defense attorney Benjamine Evan mentioned that Stewart had several significant defenses in the case. During the sentencing hearing, Evan also discussed the death of Stewart's mother and the effect it had on the defendant.

"It led him to use alcohol excessively and also marijuana," he said.

Covington stressed the violence of the assault Stewart was charged with committing.

"This was very disturbing behavior to say the least. I'm pretty sure he was drinking at the time, but that was no excuse," he said.

According to charging documents, Stewart was accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl at a Waldorf barbecue June 8.

He was charged with sexual child abuse, two counts of third-degree sex offense and second-degree assault.

Stewart's sister and father said they support him at Tuesday's hearing.

Judge Robert C. Nalley sentenced Stewart to 10 years of incarceration with all but one year suspended and gave him credit for the 189 days he had already spent in jail.

brodgers@somdnews.com