Our children are targeted by pedophiles and sex traffickers in Scioto County, Ohio, and across the nation. Arrests in other states and even other countries can still hit home because, thanks to the Internet, distance does not keep these predators from getting to your children. We’re going to continually update this feature.
We will shine the light on how local, state, and national law enforcement are hunting down and capturing the people who want to murder our children’s innocence.
We’ll update almost daily as new information becomes available.
Ironton Man Arrested For Sex With 14-Year-Old
Accused Pike Child Pornographer Busted For Jumping Bail
Pike County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Piketon man on Thursday after he jumped bail on child pornography charges. Back on August 13, officers arrested Roger D. Blythe, 33, of Sugar Run Road.
Police charged him with pandering obscenities involving a minor and scheduled to appear in court on August 27. Blythe bonded out of jail for $20,000. However, he failed to show up in court for his hearing.
The court issued a warrant for his arrest. Deputies picked him up at his home.
Pedro Man Arrested For Raping 13-year-old
The Scioto County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robert Sly, 19, of Pedro, Ohio for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
Sheriff Marty Donini said his office learned last week that the girl had been repeatedly assaulted by Sly. The last assault happened during the July 4th weekend.
Detectives interviewed witnesses and took statements before interviewing Sly at the Sheriff’s Office on August 20. Sly was arrested as a result of that interview. The Sheriff’s Office said Sly was charged with rape and currently held without bond at the Scioto County Jail.
Additionally, the Sheriff said his office believes there is at least one more victim. Anyone with information should contact Detective Jodi Conkel at 740-351-1091. All calls will remain confidential.
Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy
A court sentenced Charles Barreras, 49, of Kingsland, Ga., to 62 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Attempted Coercion and Enticement. After completion of his prison term, Barreras will be required to serve 10 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
There is no parole in the federal system.
Barreras is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, stationed at Submarine Base Kings Bay in Kingsland. He and eight other men were indicted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Three of the remaining defendants in the operation have been sentenced to federal prison, while others await sentencing after entering guilty pleas, or are awaiting trial.
Pike County Man Arrested For Child Porn
The Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Pike County Man on child pornography charges last Wednesday. Sheriff James Nelson said his office charged Roger D. Blythe, 33, of Sugar Run Road in Piketon, with pandering obscenities involving a minor.
Butler is currently lodged in the Butler County Jail. Sheriff Nelson said the Pike County Grand Jury would hear the case against Blythe on Friday.
West Portsmouth Arrested For Rape of a Child
Sheriff Donini said the call came into the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office 911 center just before 7:30 pm on Wednesday, August 12. The parents of a little girl said their daughter told them she’d been sexually assaulted.
Because the little girl was at the hospital during the evening, officials waited until Thursday morning to bring the child and other witnesses into the Sheriff’s Office for an interview. Once detectives had her story, they went to the suspect’s house to bring him in for questioning. Law enforcement arrested Harlow after the questioning.
Police charged Johnnie Harlow, 63, of Marne Avenue in West Portsmouth with two counts of rape of a child under 13 and two counts of gross sexual imposition. Harlow is currently held in the Scioto County Jail of $250,000 bond.
Former Music Teacher Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography
A former music teacher who contracted with a number of school districts in Southern California pleaded guilty today (08/13/20) to a federal child pornography charge.
John Edward Zeretzke, 61, of Ventura, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.
He previously pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court to six state counts of committing lewd or lascivious acts with minors under the age of 14 years old.
Zeretzke has been sentenced to 18 years in state prison and federal prosecutors are recommending an 18-year federal prison sentence that will run concurrently with his state prison sentence.
Med Student Blackmailed Girls Into Porn
It took eight years to bring this creep to justice. Marco Viscomi, blackmailed kids into making child pornography. Back then, Viscomi was a medical student in Canada. He finally pleaded guilty to his crimes on August 12, 2020.
“Marco Viscomi’s criminal conduct is nothing short of horrendous,” said U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger. “Producing images of child sexual abuse is heinous and causes incalculable and unknowable harm to victims.”
This case shows that distance is no barrier to these predators. Viscomi targeted his Virginia Beach victims from his home in Ontario, Canada.
Worried Dad
In January 2012, a father of two girls reported to the Virginia Beach Police his daughters had been extorted by someone they met online. The children were 13 and 17 at the time.
Viscomi threatened the girls and forced them to engage in sexually explicit conduct. He also coerced them to produce images of child sexual abuse. The VBPD and HSI traced the culprit to Ontario. They later identified Viscomi as the person responsible. Viscomi was a 26-year-old medical student at that time.
Those poor girls weren’t his only victims. Investigators discovered he’d blackmailed dozens of other kids all over the United States. Viscomi fought extradition to the US until December of 2019. He faces a minimum of 30 years in jail for his crime.
Child Porn with 2-year-old
A federal court sentenced Amber Decker, age 26, of Antwerp, New York, today (08/12/20) to serve 264 months (22 years) in jail.
Decker pleaded guilty to all counts of a seven-count indictment, admitting that she, together with her husband, Logan Decker, conspired to and sexually exploited the child for the purpose of producing images and videos of the abuse.
She videotaped her sexual abuse of the two-year-old and uploaded the video files to a cloud storage account for her husband to view.
70,000 child pornography images
Taryn Goin Naidoo, 41, of Diamondhead, Mississippi gets 14 years in federal prison.
Naidoo knowingly possessed over 70,000 images and videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including images of minors under the age of 12.
Pastor David Pettigrew, 48
Federal Agents arrested David Pettigrew for transporting child pornography in Grayson County, Texas
According to court documents, Pettigrew came to the attention of law enforcement officials through referrals sent by two electronic surveillance providers. Agents executed federal search warrants at Pettigrew’s residence and the Denison Church of the Nazarene, after which, agents arrested Pettigrew.
If convicted, Pettigrew faces a minimum of 5 years and up to 20 years in federal prison.
Pettigrew was the pastor of According to the Denison Church of the Nazarene for 14 years.
Circleville Man Used Homeless Ministry To Target Victims
Circleville Police said Hank O. Stapleton, 56, of Circleville used a homeless ministry to target kids for sex abuse. The department received a tip about multiple sex assaults on kids and immediately began an investigation. They discovered even more victims and identified Stapleton as the suspect.
The Circleville PD and Ohio State Highway Patrol Computer Crimes Unit served a search warrant at his home. Officers discovered multiple items of evidence and arrested Stapleton. Officers charged him with felony rape and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
Police said to expect more charges after investigators go over his electronic devices. Horrifically, police said he used a Christian outreach ministry for the homeless to find his victims.
Police have already identified multiple victims but they’re still searching for more. Officers asked additional victims or witnesses to please come forward.
child sex predator Ohio
School Employee Charged With Child Porn
Police charged Matthew Holland, a 28-year-old New York man who worked as a school faculty member, with possession of child pornography. Investigators said he used various social medial accounts to solicit nude images from kids online. He then blackmailed the children to keep sending the images.
So even if you don’t live anywhere near this guy, your kids could still be a target.
Here are the accounts that Homeland Security said he used:
Snapchat: sheltonmoore47; steph.johnson12; tjohnson755; tj6340; timjohnson755; shelly4794; and s123m321.
Skype: Tim Johnson tjohnson755.
Instagram: timj755; sheltonmoore8945; bkingsbury755; and stephj8882019.
Facebook: Josh Garmon
Check your kids’ accounts to make sure they weren’t communicating with this guy. Anyone with information concerning Matthew Holland or the social media accounts listed below is asked to contact Homeland Security Investigations at (716) 464-6070 or via email at hsibuffalotips@ice.dhs.gov.
Holland Blackmailed Kids
Law Enforcement said Holland used the “Tjohnson755″ account to have sexually explicit conversations with a 14-year-old. He also coerced the girl into sending nude photos. When she wanted to stop, he threatened to share the images on the internet. After investigators took a look at these accounts, they discovered he’d targeted other kids. When police searched his house they found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. He’d also installed hidden cameras in the photography business where he worked to photograph children undressing.
If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Hamilton Man Trafficked Teen
A federal grand jury in Cincinnati indicted Malikai Willis, 24, of Hamilton Ohio for sexually trafficking a child.
The indictment alleged that he trafficked a 16-year-old girl for four months in 2019 and 2020. Officials charged Willis causing the child to engage in prostitution. He also created child pornography featuring the girl.
Willis could face 10 years to life in prison for sex trafficking a minor. Producing child pornography carries a stiffer sentence, of 15 to 30 years.
As we’ve told you in previous articles, traffickers often produce videos of teens to use for blackmail purposes in order to keep them trapped in the cycle of human trafficking.