The Capital

FBI: Hanover data analyst sought sex with child

- By John Annese

A U.S. Navy petty officer from Hanover was carrying a large teddy bear when he showed up at a New York train station for what he thought was a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl, according to court documents.

But Douglas Engstrom’s meet-up last Friday turned out to be with an undercover FBI agent, and now he faces the possibilit­y of 10 years to life in prison.

Engstrom, 36, is a divorced father of two children and works as a data analyst at Fort Meade, law enforcemen­t sources said.

He also went by “bleepbloor­p” on the social media app Whisper, where users post anonymous public messages and confession­als.

The FBI agent put out bait on the app on Dec. 6, with a post claiming she “no longer needed dental braces,” according to a criminal complaint. Engstrom replied, and during their correspond­ence the agent said several times she was a 13-year-old girl in school, the complaint alleges.

He said he was 36 years old, lived in Maryland, worked for the Navy and expressed interest in having sex with her, the complaint alleges. He also gave a cellphone number and made similar comments over text, according to the complaint.

The agent set up a Saturday meeting at the Long Island Rail Road station in Valley Stream, and Engstrom flew into New York, arriving at Kennedy Airport, the feds allege.

The FBI agent asked he bring a teddy bear along with him, and he had it with him when law enforcemen­t officials arrested him at the train station Saturday, according to court documents.

Engstrom was arraigned Monday in Long Island Federal Court and ordered held without bond, as he and his lawyer continues to put together an acceptable bail applicatio­n.

The Federal Defenders of New York, which represente­d Engstrom at arraignmen­t, declined comment Tuesday.

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