Berlin man sentenced on child pornography, child sex abuse charges
BERLIN, Md. – A Berlin man has been sentenced to nearly five decades in prison for sex abuse of a minor and child pornography charges.
The investigation began when the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit received a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possible possession of child pornography. The cybertip revealed information about the reported user, which was traced back to the residence of 38-year-old Bruce Travers. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence, which was executed on August 20, 2021, leading to the seizure of multiple pieces of evidence, including electronics, thumb drives, camera memory cards, and several articles of children’s clothing.
Once investigators were able to identify several juveniles depicted in the images, they requested child protective services workers to conduct forensic interviews with the victims at the CRICKET Center, Worcester County’s Child Advocacy Center. Travers was then charged with over 80 offenses.
On July 12, 2022, Travers pleaded guilty to three counts of sex abuse of a minor and three counts of manufacturing child pornography. The judge ordered a psycho-sexual evaluation prior to sentencing.
Travers was sentenced to serve a total of 105 years in prison, with 56 years suspended, meaning that Travers will serve 49 years of active incarceration. If released, Travers will be on five years of supervised probation and will be required to register as a lifetime sex offender, have no unsupervised contact with minors, and not lead or participate in any youth groups including educational, religious, or sports groups.
