Office of the State's Attorney

Worcester County, Maryland

TRAVERS SENTENCED FOR SEX OFFENSES AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

On Friday, October 21, 2022, Bruce William Travers, age 38, of Berlin, Maryland, was sentenced to serve a total of 105 years in prison for his conviction on 3 counts of sex abuse of a minor and  3 counts of manufacturing child pornography. Travers pleaded guilty to these offenses on July 12, 2022 and the Honorable Brian D. Shockley of the Worcester County Circuit Court ordered a psycho-sexual evaluation prior to sentencing. At sentencing, the Court suspended 56 years of the sentence, meaning that Travers will serve 49 years of active incarceration. If released, Travers will be on 5 years of supervised probation with conditions requiring that he register as a lifetime sex offender, have no unsupervised contact with minors, and not lead or participate in any youth groups to include educational, religious or sports groups.  

The charges originated when the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit received a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding the possible possession of child pornography. The cybertip revealed information about the reported user which was traced back to Travers’ residence by investigators. Detectives with the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant which was executed on August 20, 2021 and seized multiple pieces of evidence, including electronics, thumb drives, camera memory cards, and several articles of children’s clothing. The electronic devices contained numerous images of child pornography. Once investigators were able to identify several juveniles  depicted in the images, they requested child protective services workers conduct forensic interviews with the victims at the CRICKET Center, Worcester County’s child advocacy center. Following these interviews, Travers was charged with over 
80 offenses.  

Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser praised the collaborative efforts of the Maryland State Police, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Child Protective Services and the CRICKET Center, and thanked Det. Teves for his work in investigating internet crimes against children. Det. Teves was assisted by Det. Bailey of the Ocean Pines Police Department, as well as Det. Martin, Cpl. Herrmann and Digital Forensic Examiner Kupec of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. Heiser also thanked ASA Pamela Correa who prosecuted the case.  

The mission of the CRICKET Center is to create a community response in which abusers are held accountable and children and families experience hope and healing. The multidisciplinary team is made up of law enforcement officers, child protective service personnel, prosecutors, advocates, mental health therapists and medical personnel. To learn more, or to report suspected child abuse, please contact 410-641-0097.