Former senior FDIC attorney pleads guilty conspiring to sexually exploit children

A Virginia man who served as a senior attorney with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has pleaded guilty to convincing young girls to perform sexually explicit acts on a live internet stream, and secretly recording them.

The U.S. Department of Justice said 50-year-old Mark Black of Arlington, Virginia, was a member of two internet groups dedicated to exploiting children. 

The goal of both groups was to find prepubescent girls online and convince them to livestream themselves engaging in conduct considered sexually explicit, the DOJ said, referring to court documents.

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Mark Black, 50, of Arlington, Virginia (Alexandria Sheriff's Office)

As the girls engaged in the acts, Black and other members of the groups secretly recorded them and shared the videos among each other.

Court documents show the behavior took place between January 2018 and October 2021. Specifically, in July 2019, Black recorded his screen as a prepubescent minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct on a streaming application.

Later that month, Black and an unnamed co-conspirator convinced a different minor to perform sexually explicit acts on an application that allows people to share photos and videos, the DOJ explained.

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Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (iStock)

Reuters reported that a spokesperson for the FDIC said Black was suspended once the allegations surfaced, adding that none of his activities were related to the agency or its resources.

On Tuesday, Black pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce child pornography as well as coercion and enticement.

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Mark Black pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced in April. (iStock)

He is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge April 30. 

The mandatory sentence is a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.

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The FBI and FDIC’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case, which was brought as part of a nationwide initiative launched in 2006, to fight child sexual exploitation.

Reuters contributed to this report.