Ellicott City Man Gets Local Sentence for Raping 6-Year-Old

An Ellicott City man who pleaded guilty to raping a 6-year-old girl was given a 20-year suspended sentence today, days after he was sentenced to serve 40 years in federal prison, according to Howard County Circuit Court Clerk Wayne Robey.

In what Howard County assistant prosecutor Colleen McGuin told WBAL-TV was “the worst case I’ve ever had, short of homicide,” Jeffrey Joseph Trantham, 24, admitted that in 2009 he raped a 6-year-old girl, broadcasting it live on the Internet. When investigators raided his house, they found more than 600 pictures and videos of child pornography.

In March, Trantham pleaded guilty to second-degree rape in Howard County Circuit Court. Last week, a federal judge sentenced Trantham to serve 40 years in federal prison.

On Monday, Howard County Circuit Court Judge Howard County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. McCrone issued a 20-year suspended sentence, meaning Trantham will not spend time in jail for the Howard County conviction.

"It's kind of there as a precaution," McGuin told WBAL-TV. "He'll be doing an actual 40 years in federal prison."

Once he is released from prison, Trantham will have to register as a sex offender and will be forbidden from unsupervised contact with minors and from the Internet, according to Robey.