A Woodbridge, Virginia man pleaded guilty today to one count of production of child pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement.

David Edward De Vere, 53, a former Equal Employment Specialist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia to production of child pornography. According to admissions made in connection with his plea, in March 2017, De Vere met and began communicating online with a 16-year-old minor living in Colorado. During the course of these communications, De Vere induced the minor to take and send him images of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, in April 2017, De Vere travelled from Virginia to Colorado in an attempt to engage in sexual activity with the minor, but failed to make contact with the minor.

De Vere is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11, 2019.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is comprised of agents of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and detectives from the Prince William County Police, Fairfax County Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Police, Alexandria City Police, Arlington County Police, Leesburg Police, Virginia State Police and the Offices of Inspector General of several federal agencies. Trial Attorney William Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer are prosecuting the case.