Ex-Hogan official faces child porn charges
Borunda was arrested after investigators posed as a teenage girl, documents say
Luis Borunda, a deputy state secretary under former Gov. Larry Hogan, was federally indicted last month on child pornography charges, complicating and elevating a sexual solicitation case brought against him last year in Anne Arundel County.
Borunda, 65, was arrested Aug. 30 following a sting operation in which Fort Meade criminal investigators posed as a teenage girl skipping school to meet him, according to charging documents. Before federal attorneys became involved, he was scheduled for trial in that case Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
The new nine-page indictment submitted to the U.S. District Court of Maryland includes the August incident, while also accusing the longtime political figure of producing and distributing child pornography to interstate and international markets.
Borunda has been charged with the sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor, two counts of distributing child pornography as well as the possession of child pornography. Additionally, if convicted, he will be ordered to forfeit any involved property, including a cellphone, two computers and three flash drives, to law enforcement.
A Baltimore businessman based in Essex, Borunda’s political career began in the early 2000s and eventually led to a brief role at the start of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Soon after presiding over the Baltimore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Borunda helped co-found the Maryland Hispanic Republican Caucus in 2003, a faction, according to The Baltimore Sun, created as “a demonstration of inclusiveness” during Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr.’s administration.
Tensions between the caucus and the Ehrlich-era GOP over Latino appointees to the governor’s administration, however, led to Borunda splitting from the caucus and forming a competing group, the Hispanic Republicans of Maryland. Just six months after the first caucus was formed, Maryland Republicans voted to oust it in favor of Borunda’s group.
During this time, Borunda’s caucus supported the GOP even as its lawmakers created more bills to try and “make it clear that undocumented foreigners are not welcome in Maryland,” The Capital previously reported.
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Last month’s indictment includes sparse details on Borunda’s conduct.
Ehrlich provided him other opportunities throughout the state, including an appointment to the Baltimore County Board of Education in 2004 and then deputy secretary of state in 2006. Borunda, who was the first Hispanic to hold the deputy position, would regain it in 2015 under Hogan.
Borunda’s political focus on education in the early 2000s led to the creation of the nonprofit U.S. Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur Education in 2004, the same year he was appointed to the Baltimore County Board of Education. The organization was formed to help Hispanic youth finish high school, introduce them to college and help them understand that a career in entrepreneurship was possible.
Federal prosecutors say all of Borunda’s illicit behavior took place in 2023, several years after his time in public service ended.
Last month’s indictment includes sparse details on Borunda’s conduct, mentioning actions in videos as well as a loose recounting of his time chatting online with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
In late August, a special agent with the Fort Meade Army Criminal Investigation Office was operating undercover as a teenager named Chloe, according to initial charging documents. Borunda contacted the agent through an online chat room and introduced himself as “Steve,” police wrote.
Borunda knew “Chloe” was 13 and “immediately asked” if she “would want to meet,” adding it would be “hot and naughty,” according to police. The former deputy secretary told the agent that he was an older man who liked younger girls, saying he had met with 15-year-olds in the past but never a 13-year-old.
Their conversations became more explicit, police wrote, before the agent, acting as the girl, agreed to meet Borunda during a school day at Provinces Park in Severn. Driving a black car, Borunda would bring a mocha frappé and brownie from Starbucks, and “Chloe” would skip school to see him, police wrote.
Borunda arrived at the park at the arranged time, getting out of the car at one point and walking toward a jungle gym where he expected to meet the girl. When “Chloe” never arrived, Borunda texted her, saying he was leaving because “he was getting nervous with all of the police around. He then drove to a nearby CVS Pharmacy where he was arrested.
After obtaining a warrant, police found a cellphone under the driver’s seat. According to charging documents, it had “numerous notifications” sent to “Steve” from “Chloe” on Discord, a popular messaging platform often used for online gaming.
Federal prosecutor Jacob Gordin will lead the case against Borunda. A defense attorney has not yet been retained, court records show.
During Borunda’s time in the Hogan administration, he briefly joined a controversial panel established by then-President Trump investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election. Created by executive order, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity was formed after Trump claimed millions of people had voted illegally for Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote by 2.9 million ballots.
The decision to include Borunda confused many, as the Secretary of State’s office has no role in voter registration or how elections are administered in Maryland. At the time, a spokesperson for the Hogan administration said Borunda had joined Trump’s panel “on his own.”
Borunda resigned from the board four days after his appointment. The panel itself was disbanded in 2018 after becoming the subject of at least eight lawsuits.