The former Democrat mayor of University Park, Maryland, is facing over 20 charges after FBI investigators discovered 45,000 files of child sex abuse images on his electronic devices.
Joel Biermann, 46, has been charged with 22 counts of possessing child pornography and six more felony charges related to distribution and solicitation.
Bierman served as University Park’s Mayor from 2022 through June of 2024.
Fox 5 DC reported that Biermann solicited images and videos while serving as mayor.
Charging documents further revealed authorities discovered a young boy’s underwear in his office while executing a search warrant.
NEW: Former Mayor of University Park, Maryland Joel Biermann (D) is facing 28 charges related to child pornography. Biermann was arrested at his home after a search warrant conducted by the FBI. He served as mayor until June 2024. (For reference, the town is next to College Park) pic.twitter.com/ZA9QLHfcHi
— DMV News Live (@DCNewsLive) October 30, 2024
Per WTOP:
The former mayor of University Park, Maryland, is facing dozens of charges after FBI investigators said they found 45,000 files depicting suspected child sexual abuse on his devices.
Joel Biermann, 46, was charged with 22 counts of possessing child sexual abuse images, along with several other related charges, this week. He served as the Prince George’s County town’s mayor from 2022 through June 2024.
Investigators said he produced, distributed and knowingly possessed images and videos of children being sexually abused. Some of the allegations overlapped with his time as mayor.
When law enforcement searched his home Monday, they located electronic devices with tens of thousands of files containing abusive materials, according to charging documents.
Some of those file names listed children’s race and age, with the youngest listed being 2 years old. Several were explicitly labeled with the terms “rape,” others mentioned torture or bondage.
Biermann has previously shown his support for the Biden-Harris administration.
On Biermann’s Facebook page, he shared a link showing that he donated to the Biden-Harris campaign.
He also wrote a post that read “F Trump.”
LOOK:
Former University Park, Maryland Mayor Joel Biermann, a Democrat, is now facing 28 child pornography-related charges. Biermann was taken into custody at his residence following an FBI-led search warrant. He held the mayoral position until June 2024.
Biermann was a big Biden and… pic.twitter.com/68EXiXjIMA
— Anthony Scott (@AnthonyScottTGP) October 30, 2024
Biermann’s arrest comes just a year after College Park’s Democrat mayor, Patrick Wojahn, was sentenced to a 30-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges related to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
College Park is only 1.7 miles away from University Park.
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