Herndon Resident Indicted After FBI Online Sting

WASHINGTON, DC — A Herndon resident was indicted Thursday on a federal charge of distributing child pornography after sending child sexual abuse material to an undercover FBI agent, according to court records.

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., charged Brianna Linsangan, also identified in earlier court filings as Bryan Linsangan, with one count of distributing child pornography. The alleged distribution occurred between May 20 and May 22, according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The charge stems from an undercover investigation conducted by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The allegations have not been proven in court, and Linsangan is presumed innocent unless convicted.

FBI Details Undercover Online Investigation

According to an FBI agent’s affidavit, an undercover task force officer was monitoring an online dating application on May 20 when a user initiated a conversation and asked to continue communicating through the encrypted messaging service Signal.

Investigators allege the user discussed a sexual interest in children and sent the undercover officer multiple videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children. The court filing contains graphic descriptions of the alleged communications and material.

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The undercover officer posed as the father of a 9-year-old boy. According to the affidavit, the user expressed interest in meeting the officer in Washington, D.C., to sexually abuse the purported child.

No actual child was involved in the undercover operation, according to the account provided in the affidavit.

The user told the undercover officer that they lived in Herndon, investigators said. Records obtained from online service providers and other sources allegedly led agents to Linsangan and a home on Denmark Drive.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at the Herndon residence on Aug. 13. Investigators alleged that a preliminary examination of Linsangan’s cellphone found several images depicting child sexual abuse, as well as the dating application profile used to communicate with the undercover officer.

Linsangan was arrested that day and initially held without bond. Following a detention hearing on Tuesday, a magistrate judge denied the government’s request to keep Linsangan in custody and granted the defense’s request for release.

Court records show Linsangan was ordered released on personal recognizance under the court’s High Intensity Supervision Program.

The grand jury returned the indictment Thursday. It also included a forfeiture allegation seeking property connected to the alleged offense if Linsangan is convicted.