State v. Daniel Jonathan Felts
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, July 23, 2021, Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer, Jr. sentenced Daniel Jonathan Felts, 38, to two life sentences in prison for Second Degree Rape, Possession of Child Pornography, and two counts of Solicitation to Commit Murder.
On April 21, 2021, Felts entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges.
On September 4, 2019, the juvenile victim and her mother contacted officers from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) to report multiple sexual assaults that occurred on Blair Road in Indian Head. The victim reported that between 2016-2019, Felts touched her underneath her clothing and forced her to have sex with him on various occasions. The victim also reported that Felts purchased a sex toy for her use.
Felts was apprehended on October 4, 2019 and was held at the Charles County Detention Center.
During the course of the investigation, officers confiscated Felts’ cell phone and found pornographic images of children on his device.
In August 2020, detectives from the CCSO learned that an inmate was trying to solicit someone to murder two people. An investigation by the CCSO and Special Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) revealed that Felts reached out and offered to pay someone to kill the juvenile victim and her mother before his trial date. Thankfully, the victim and her mother were unharmed.
At sentencing, the prosecutor told the judge, “These charges are some of the most serious that Your Honor has seen and that this courthouse has seen. The State implores the Court to give the maximum sentence as punishment and to show the community that we don’t tolerate adults having sex children, and we don’t tolerate people trying to solicit murder. – It’s heinous, it’s horrific, and he deserves the maximum sentence that you can impose.”
Before giving Felts two life sentences, Judge Greer stated, “These heinous actions show that you were only considering yourself. You are a danger to others and not interested in rehabilitation.” He further said that Felts would be “an ongoing danger to every member of society” which “demands [he] receives the maximum penalty to protect the community.”
C-08-CR-20-000293
- Count One – Second Degree Rape
- Life
C-08-CR-20-000351
- Count One – Possession of Child Pornography
- 10 years concurrent to Count One in C-08-CR-20-000293
C-08-CR-20-463
- Count One – Solicitation to Commit Murder
- Life consecutive to Count One in C-08-CR-20-000293
- Count Two – Solicitation to Commit Murder
- Life concurrent to Count One in C-08-CR-20-463; consecutive to count one in C-08-CR-20-000293
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