A Germantown man is expected to serve 18 years in prison for distributing child pornography, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
On Friday, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Bibbi Berry sentenced Hummad Siddiqui, 35, to 64 years in prison, with 46 years suspended, and five years of supervised probation, the State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Siddiqui also is required to register as a sex offender.
“This is a just sentence that will help to protect our community, in particular our children,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.
Siddiqui pleaded guilty on Dec. 20 to eight counts of distribution of child pornography, the State’s Attorney’s Office said.
“My client is remorseful for his actions, and harm to a child is always unacceptable,” Siddiqui’s attorney, Asim Humayun, told MoCo360. “The sentence was expected and reasonable given the circumstances, and my client understands the consequences of his actions.”
According to charging documents, Google determined March 14, 2022, that files uploaded by a user possibly contained child pornography “through protocols to detect illegal use of online services.” The company reported it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline on March 22, as required by law, the documents stated.
Google provided Siddiqui’s name, date of birth, email address and phone number and said that his internet provider address was located in Germantown. The report was forwarded to Montgomery County police for an investigation, according to charging documents.
On June 30, 2022, the police department obtained a search warrant for Siddiqui’s residence and police seized multiple devices, including a computer, a hard drive and an iPhone, charging documents stated.
When police were conducting the search, Siddiqui “admitted to sending child pornography to other persons as well as possessing child pornography,” charging documents said.
Also, after searching his iPhone, investigators found that he sent 24 videos containing child pornography to other people using a messaging service called Telegram, according to charging documents.
He was arrested following the investigation and has been held without bond at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds since Oct. 12, 2023, according to digital court records.