Man charged with soliciting child porn

Reportedly told teen he ran a modeling company

A Leonardtown man was arrested last week for reportedly soliciting an underaged girl to take nude photographs and videos of herself, claim- ing that he ran an “inter- net modeling company,” court records revealed.

Brian Patrick Durant, 29, was charged with soliciting child pornog- raphy and distribution of obscene matter, accused of convincing a 17-yearold girl to send him ex- plicit images and videos for about an eight-month period last year, charging documents indicate. Af- ter she decided to stop communicating with him, Durant allegedly began sending her pornograph- ic photos and videos she had him.

On July 25, 2016, the now 18-year-old woman reported the allegations to a detective with the Charles County Sher- iff’s Office, prompting an investigation, police records state. She told investigators that Durant had hired her to take photographs of children pos- ing with the Easter bunny at the St. Charles Towne Center for Noerr Programs, a company that sets up theatrical holiday scenes for shoppers.

She was 17 years old when Durant reportedly approached her during work about the online modeling company, and allegedly convinced her to begin sending him nude images that he said would previously sent to be posted on a website that could only be viewed by people outside the U.S. for a 24-hour period.

In October 2015, the girl decided to stop communicating with Durant, and soon began receiving images she had allegedly sent to Durant, court records show. During the investigation, detectives were able to trace the IP address used to send the images back to Durant, and metadata embedded into the images further showed that the girl would have been 17 at the time the photos and videos were taken.

Durant has since been released after posting bond, court records show. A preliminary hearing date is pending.