Five men sentenced from last year's stings targeting child sex predators in Western Md.
Five of six men charged with sexual solicitation of a minor last year, through two sting operations the Washington County Sheriff's Office was involved with, have been sentenced. The sixth defendant had a plea offer this week, but that hearing was delayed after the judge ordered a competency hearing.
The sting operations, done in late spring and late August in 2023, were done in part to target child sex predators, police have said.
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In both stings, authorities identified offenders using undercover law enforcement officers and social media platforms and/or online chat sites. In-person meetups were then arranged, leading to arrests.
The Maryland State Police Criminal Investigation Division and Child Recovery Unit joined the sheriff's office for at least one of the sting operations.
The maximum possible sentence for sexual solicitation of a minor in Maryland is 10 years in state prison and a $25,000 fine.
Judge orders competency hearing for local defendant in solicitation sting
A proposed plea deal for the last defendant, Raquan Tyreek Martin, 24, of Hagerstown, was brought up during a Tuesday hearing, but postponed after Judge Dana Moylan Wright ordered a competency hearing.
Assistant State's Attorney Christine Remsburg told Wright the proposed plea was for three years, suspending all but 18 months in exchange for a guilty plea to the sexual solicitation of a minor charge.
Wright said the competency evaluation will provide her information about the public safety aspect she wants before sentencing Martin. The evaluation will include a danger assessment. The goal of the competency evaluation is to see what services could be helpful to Martin because she doesn't want him getting into trouble again, Wright said.
The competency hearing also is about understanding if Martin understands the court proceedings and can help in his defense, Assistant Public Defender Carl Somerlock said after the hearing.
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Somerlock said he was concerned that the length of time it could take to get such an evaluation done could lead to his client being in lockup longer than he would have if the plea had proceeded.
Martin has been held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center since Aug. 18, according to his online court docket. He is expected to get credit, toward his sentence, for that time.
Wright said she would "chase down" the Maryland Department of Health, if need be, to make sure Martin isn't "sitting around for eons" waiting for a competency assessment.
Judge reminds defendant he didn't know it wasn't a child he was meeting
Five other men previously pleaded guilty to sexual solicitation of a minor from the sting operations.
Peter John Eleftheriou, 41, of Perry Hall, Md., was sentenced on Jan. 29 to three years, with all but a year suspended. He had 158 days credit for time served and was ordered to serve the rest of his sentence at the detention center.
"His family and friends spoke more eloquently about Peter than I ever would be able to," defense attorney Dave Harbin said of people addressing retired Washington County Circuit Court Judge Daniel P. Dwyer about Eleftheriou before sentencing.
Some of those speakers said Eleftheriou made a "careless" and "stupid" mistake. Family and friends told Dwyer they would support Eleftheriou and get him the help he needs.
Eleftheriou told the judge he had already been in jail for five months and talked about judging someone by their character and getting counseling so he can hopefully return to the job he loves.
Dwyer told the Baltimore County man that for all Eleftheriou knew, there really was a 14-year-old child who he was going to abuse and traumatize for the rest of their life.
When released, Eleftheriou will be on supervised probation for three years and is to have no unsupervised contact with minors.
He will be a Tier II sex offender, meaning he has to register with the state's sex offender registry for 25 years.
Other defendants sentenced for soliciting a minor during police sting operations
Eleftheriou and Martin were both arrested in August during the second sting. The other four men were charged stemming from the sting operation in late spring.
According to court records and dockets, those four men pleaded guilty to sexual solicitation of a minor last November and were sentenced then.
Kevin Anthony Gravely, 29, of the Smithsburg area, was sentenced to two years and 6 months, with all but one year suspended and to be served at the detention center. He had 175 days credit for time served when he was sentenced. When released, Gravely will be on supervised probation for three years and is to have no contact with minors. He will be a Tier III sex offender, meaning he will have to register with the state's sex offender registry for the rest of his life.
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Zahir Bilal Toloa, 25, of Springfield, Va., was sentenced to 16 months, with all but 10 months suspended and to be served at the detention center. He had 168 days credit. When released, he will be on supervised probation for three years and is to have no unsupervised contact with minors. He will be a Tier II sex offender.
Pradyumna S.K. Angalkudru, 25, of Ashburn, Va., was sentenced to six years, with all but 18 months suspended and to be served at the detention center. He had 176 days credit. When released, he will be on supervised probation for three years and six months and is not to have contact with unrelated minors. He will be a Tier II sex offender.
Sawyer Michael Loessberg, 30, of Fairfax, Va., was sentenced to six years, with all but 18 months suspended and to be served at the detention center. He had 174 days credit. When released, he will be on supervised probation for three years and six months. He is not to view or possess pornography, is to join an ex-offender group treatment program and cannot have contact with minors. He will be a Tier II sex offender.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Cases almost done from 2023 Washington County sex predator stings
