Annapolis, Maryland – After serving years in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl in 2009, Dubree Lane, age 57, was sentenced Monday to serve the additional 35 years of his previously suspended term for violating probation for possessing child pornography, State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced.
"The outcome of this case is a result of the dedication of both law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in holding child abusers accountable. I am thankful that this defendant was removed from the community as he has proven he is a danger to children and needs to be imprisoned for the foreseeable future," said Leitess.
"This case also highlights the importance of being vigilant in protecting children from adults who can use their proximity and access to abuse them. It is all too common that child predators befriend unsuspecting relatives in order to gain access to our young children. They look for opportunities to be alone with a child in the guise of babysitting. We must also be proactive with children and teach them what good touches and bad touches are so they can recognize when they are being exploited."
In 2009, Lane was dating a relative of a 7-year-old girl. Once gaining trust, he found time to be alone with the child and sexually assaulted her. Fortunately, the child disclosed this to her mother and Lane was arrested and charged. The next year, he pleaded guilty to Second-Degree Sex Offense and was sentenced by an Anne Arundel County judge to 50 years, with all but 15 years suspended. After his release from prison, Lane was to be on supervised probation, register as a sex offender, and to have no contact with minor children.
In August 2022, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received tips from internet and electronic service providers that computers at Lane's address had uploaded multiple suspected child pornography images onto a service. NCMEC then contacted Baltimore County Police, who obtained a search warrant and served it upon Lane at his Gwynn Oak address. During the search, detectives recovered numerous images and videos of child pornography on Lane's devices.
After his arrest, it was determined Lane made phone calls from jail to his elderly father in an effort to convince him or any other relative to take the blame for the pornography because he faced a 35-year suspended sentence in Anne Arundel County. His father refused to cooperate with the request.
On May 24, 2023, Lane pleaded guilty to Possession of Child Pornography and faces up to five years in prison at sentencing in Baltimore County in September. John Magee, the Chief of the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office Child Abuse and Sex Offense Division, contacted the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office to assist in the prosecution of Lane for violating his probation.
On Monday, July 24, 2023, Lane's Violation of Probation hearing was held and he admitting to violating the terms of his probation. State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess asked a Circuit Court judge to impose the full suspended sentence from his 2009 case.
The Honorable Pamela K. Alban agreed, and sentenced Lane to 35 years in prison.