Maryland man pleads guilty to soliciting minors

A former custodian in the Indian River School District will be sentenced Friday, Dec. 13, in Delaware Superior Court in Georgetown after pleading guilty to charges related to soliciting sexually explicit images of underage boys.

Wayne Long, 67, of Berlin, Md., took a guilty plea Sept. 17 on three counts of sexual solicitation of a child. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years on each count up with a maximum sentence of 25 years on each count. 

Delaware State Police arrested Long in October 2023 after a month-long investigation. Police said Long became a target after he requested sexually explicit images of underage children through Snapchat in exchange for transportation to and from the coastal beaches. Police identified two victims that Long had targeted over the course of the summer. 

Police said besides once working in the Indian River School District, Long was known to support regional athletic teams, including Sussex Central High School, and to attend sporting events. Besides the two victims that Long was charged with soliciting, police believed that Long had been targeting other victims through Snapchat and possibly other social media platforms over the past couple of years.