A former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) attorney pleaded guilty to “conspiring to sexually exploit numerous children‚” the Department of Justice announced. Mark Black‚ 50‚ was a member of two online groups dedicated to exploiting children between January 2018 and October 2021‚ according to court documents. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. A former high-ranking federal attorney with the FDIC has pleaded guilty to charges related to child sexual exploitation. Mark Black‚ 50‚ was part of multiple online groups that would groom prepubescent children on the internet into engaging in sexually explicit conduct. pic.twitter.com/nnGQMjEyc2 — Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) January 24‚ 2024 Former high-ranking FDIC attorney Mark Black pleads guilty in child sex exploitation case https://t.co/Mziz4V8109 — CNBC (@CNBC) January 23‚ 2024 From the Department of Justice: The goal of the two groups was to locate prepubescent girls online and convince them to livestream themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Black and his co-conspirators would covertly record this conduct and share the videos with each other. In July 2019‚ Black induced a prepubescent minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct on a live-streaming application while screen-recording that activity. That same month‚ Black and a co-conspirator also groomed another prepubescent minor to engage in sexually explicit acts on a photo and video-sharing application. The co-conspirator surreptitiously hacked into that girl’s live-video feed and recorded the sexual acts before sending them to Black. Black was formerly the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC) board president. Black pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30 and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. High-ranking FDIC attorney Mark A. Black pleads guilty in child sex exploitation case 1 count of conspiracy to produce child pornography‚ 1 one count of coercion and enticement. 15 year mandatory minimum sentencehttps://t.co/BLQ1cEJ0hO — An Open Secret (@AnOpenSecret) January 24‚ 2024 High Ranking Government Lawyer Stayed on Paid Leave for Weeks After Child Porn Arrest Special counsel Mark A. Black arrested in Sept‚ pleaded guilty Tuesday; the bank regulator began termination procedures this weekhttps://t.co/GcTY7LqFDs — An Open Secret (@AnOpenSecret) January 24‚ 2024 From The Wall Street Journal: A Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. lawyer remained on paid administrative leave for 10 weeks after he was indicted on federal charges related to the production‚ possession and distribution of child pornography‚ an agency official said. Mark A. Black‚ who most recently served as special counsel at the FDIC‚ was indicted on Sept. 14 and arrested the next day‚ court records show. Federal prosecutors said that between January 2018 and October 2021‚ Black was part of two online groups whose goal was to track down young girls online and persuade them to livestream themselves participating in sexually explicit conduct‚ which Black and his co-conspirators secretly recorded.