Press Releases

FREDERICK-  This morning, the Honorable Judge Scott Rolle sentenced John Warren Compton, 37, of Emmitsburg, MD to 30 years in prison, suspending all but 10 years. The sentence comes after the defendant entered an Alford plea, acknowledging that the State had sufficient evidence to convict him. The plea agreement is for two counts of 3rd degree sex offense, and one count of sexual solicitation of a minor. Judge Rolle imposed additional conditions upon Compton’s release from prison. He must register as a Tier 2 sex offender for 25 years, 5 years supervised probation, have no contact with the victim or minor females under age 16, as well as undergo psychosexual evaluation, testing, and monitoring.

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith reacted to the plea stating, “It’s guys like this that we would like to put in jail forever. However, we have to balance the interest and well-being of the victim and her parents. Having to testify at trial and endure a possible appeal can often be very difficult. Notwithstanding that, we must seek a substantial prison sentence for these offenders.”

According to charging documents, Compton met the victim on Snapchat in July 2018. The defendant told the 12-year-old female victim that he was only two years older than she was. In August 2018, an arrangement was made for Compton to pick up the victim from her grandparents address in Gettysburg. The victim believed based on his stated age that he would be driven there by his parents. He subsequently took the victim back to his home in Emmitsburg and had sexual intercourse with the victim.

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorney Tammy Leache. The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police.

John Warren Compton

FREDERICK- The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has upheld the conviction of Abe Arjun Mallik on 11 counts of possession of child pornography. The charges stemmed from an investigation launched in March of 2016 by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office acting on a “cyber tip” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Detectives determined through IP providers and email accounts that the reported material came from Mallik’s home in Point of Rocks, Frederick County. Upon reviewing Google business records, detectives found communications with minor females and eight images of confirmed child pornography were identified as being uploaded to an attachment using the defendant’s e-mail address. A search warrant revealed more than 200 images of child erotica on the defendant’s laptop along with 3 confirmed images of child pornography. On June 2, 2017, a Frederick Circuit Court jury rendered a guilty verdict on all counts against Mallik. He was given a 10-year suspended sentence and ordered to register as a Tier-1 Sex Offender for 15 years.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals took up five questions for review. Mallik argued that a State expert witness should not have been allowed to testify. However, the Appeals Court found that an objection to the witness needed to happen immediately. Second, Mallik argued that the State should not have been allowed to admit evidence of a non-pornographic nature. This pertained to the images of child

erotica found on the defendant’s computer. The Appeals Court found that all “relevant evidence is admissible”. The State maintained that, “knowing possession of the illegal images because they established a pattern of prurient interest in children and negated the defense that he was hacked.” Mallik’s defense team wanted to include a question about if prospective jurors had “strong feelings” toward pornography in general. The Appeals Court found that the court maintains the right to considerable discretion during jury selection. On Day 3 of the trial, Mallik’s defense sought a mistrial on grounds that a prospective juror, who is an attorney, reported a judge talking to jurors about the probable trial duration and how the defendant had not shown up for court. The court found that “sufficient voir dire of the jury concerning the effect of the judge’s communication, the responses from the jury denying any influence by the communication, and appellant’s failure to thereafter challenge the court’s choice of remedies or its denial of the motion for mistrial, we can find no error in the court’s denial of the motion.” Finally, Mallik contended that the court erred when it permitted the State, on the first day of trial, to amend the date for three of the 11 charges in the charging document. He contended that the laptop on which the additional 3 images were found had not even been bought yet as of the earlier date. The Court of Appeals has held that “‘[a]n amendment that constitutes merely a ‘matter of form’ does not change the character of the offense.” Mallik does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the convictions.

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented on the Appeals Court decision stating, “Mallik received a fair trial. He took his shot at an appeal and he lost. Now he has to deal with the consequences of his behavior, and that’s living as a Tier I sex offender.”

Jennifer High Sentenced for Elder Theft Scheme

FREDERICK- On February 12, 2019, Jennifer Renee High, age 36, of Berkeley Springs, WV pled guilty to Theft Scheme $10,000 – $100,000 and Credit Card Theft $1,500 – $25,000. Sentencing was held on Friday, May 17, 2019 at which time a sentence of 15 years to the Division of Correction was imposed with all but 5 years of that sentence suspended. Upon release, the Defendant will be on 5 years of supervised probation and will have to pay restitution exceeding $90,000 to the victim, Diane Dwyer.

High worked for the victim’s family for approximately 14 years as a caregiver for the victim’s disabled daughter. When the victim became ill in early 2013, the Defendant volunteered to assist the victim by shopping for her, getting her money from the ATM, and paying her bills online. In December 2016, the victim, who is also an elderly individual, began to tell her daughters that she did not have any money, later receiving several overdraft notices from her bank. This prompted the victim’s family to check the bank account statements for the prior year. That check resulted in the victim and the victim’s daughter uncovering over $22K in theft from the victim’s bank account. The theft involved thousands of dollars in unauthorized ATM withdrawals, payment of the Defendant’s bills and the purchase of and payment for used cars.

After reporting this to the Brunswick Police Department, an investigation included an interview of the Defendant where she admitted to her crime and acknowledged that it had occurred over a much longer period of time. She estimated the value of the theft to be around $70,000. A review of bank records for that period of time confirmed that the Defendant had been fraudulently utilizing the victim’s funds for over four years and that the amount of the theft totaled over $90,000. That amount also included the fraudulent use of one of the victim’s credit cards which the victim never permitted the Defendant to use.

Jennifer Renee High

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith reacted, “Anyone preying on the vulnerable victim, be it a child or elderly adult, deserves this kind of harsh prison sentence. Whether it’s a physical, emotional or financial exploitation, it often does lifelong harm to victims and their families. We hope this case will send a message to those exploiting our elderly citizens.”

The State was represented by Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Shoemaker.

In an effort to increase awareness regarding this type of crime, the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office will be hosting 5 upcoming presentations on elder fraud and prevention.

Senior Center Date/Time

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Frederick Senior Center Wednesday 6/12, 5:30p Charlie Smith, State’s Attorney

Emmitsburg Senior Center Thursday 6/13, 12:30p Jason Shoemaker, Chief Assistant State’s Attorney

Urbana Senior Center Thursday 6/25, 6:00p Charlie Smith, State’s Attorney

Urbana Senior Center Wednesday 6/26, 11:30a Jason Shoemaker, Chief Assistant State’s Attorney

Brunswick Senior Center Wednesday 6/19, 12:30p Erin Pearl, Assistant State’s Attorney

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FREDERICK, MD – On Friday, May 17, 2019, a Frederick County Grand Jury indicted Dr. Ernesto Torres on an additional 65 charges. These charges stem from additional victims coming forward following the initial indictment on May 3, 2019. Below is a list of the additional charges:
– 9 Counts – Child Sex Abuse
– 10 Counts – Sex Abuse of a Minor
– 43 Counts – Sex Offense – 3rd Degree
– 2 Counts – Sex Offense – 2nd Degree
– 1. Count – Assault – 2nd Degree
Dr. Torres was arrested on the above charges on May 20, 2019, at approximately 2:27 pm. A bond review will be scheduled for tomorrow in Frederick Circuit Court, the time is to be determined.The Frederick Police Department believes there may be other victims in this case. Anyone with information about this case, including other potential victims should contact Detective Sean McKinney at 240-578-5683.
There are many resources available online and locally that provide tips on having these conversations. Local resources are available for victims of sexual assault including:
– Frederick Police Department, Victim Services Unit (301) 600-1356
– The Child Advocacy Center (301) 600-1758
– Heartly House (301) 662-8800
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. It is merely a formal charge until and if the defendant is found guilty in a future judicial proceeding. All defendants are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.