Former University Park, Maryland mayor Joel Biermann arrested on child pornography charges
Tens of thousands of files were found by law enforcement officials in a search of his home, according to charging documents obtained by wtop news.
The former mayor of a Maryland city is facing nearly 30 charges related to child pornography and child sexual abuse material.
46-year-old Joel Biermann was charged with 22 counts of possessing child sexual abuse images as well as six other felony charges related to solicitation. He made his first appearance in the Prince George’s County District Court on Tuesday.
Biermann was the former mayor of University Park, Maryland from 2022 through June 2024. He previously served on the town council from June 2020 to June 2022. University Park is located in the Washington D.C. metro area, commonly known as the DMV.
According to Maryland court records, Biermann made a formal bond hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
Town officials told Paste BN in a statement that police had been notified that the FBI would be executing a search warrant at Biermann’s residence on Monday.
“He no longer has an official position with the Town. He is a private citizen, and the Town has no contact with him and cannot comment on his activities. These are serious charges, and the Town is ready to assist as requested,” the statement said.
Law enforcement found a trove of disturbing materials
According to charging documents obtained by WTOP News, law enforcement officials found electronic devices with tens of thousands of files that contained abusive materials. Moreover, some of the file names had the victim's race and age.
The youngest child listed was 2 years old. Several files were also labeled with terms like “rape” and others mentioned torture and bondage. Charging documents also said the files found showed naked children, many of them prepubescent, being sexually abused and raped by adults.
Law enforcement also found a pair of boys' underwear and a blow-up doll resembling a child in his office, according to the charging documents.
In 2021, Biermann sent messages to an unknown user on Facebook to ask for explicit images of at least two young boys. He is alleged to have requested victims to wear thongs and asked for naked images of children.
Charging documents also said Biermann told the Facebook user, “this is your opportunity to be a real business person.” His Facebook account showed about 4,5000 messages between him and the unknown person, who lives outside the U.S., between 2021 and 2023.
Investigators also found that Biermann allegedly paid more than $800 from January 2024 to March 2024 to the unknown person.
Paste BN was not immediately able to find a lawyer representing Biermann.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.