COLUMBUS, Ohio – An ex-medical director at an Ohio health care system has pleaded guilty in federal court today to the possession of child pornography.
Garrett Norvell, 44, of Westerville, has been charged by a bill of information and appeared in federal court this morning to plead guilty.
According to court documents, in June 2020, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted an international investigation targeting individuals who utilized the dark web.
HSI Boston and the FBI obtained information from Norvell’s IP address that showed that, in April 2019, Norvell had an account username and password for a website that offered child pornography of girls 4 to 14 years old.
At the time of the investigation, Norvell was the medical director of OhioHealth in Ashland.
In February 2022, agents from HSI and the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force forcefully executed a search warrant on Norvell’s person at the Emergency Care Center at OhioHealth in Ashland and seized his various electronics. In less than a week, Norvell was swiftly removed from all OhioHealth services and facilities, and a State Medical Board of Ohio investigation was promptly initiated. In March 2022, Norvell definitively surrendered his license to practice medicine in Ohio.
Forensic analysis of Norvell’s electronics revealed at least 18 files of child pornography, including “Pre-Teen Hard Core” content.
Norvell admitted he allegedly had an addiction to child pornography and had been watching child pornography since he was approximately 21 years old. He said in interviews that the youngest victim he had viewed in a pornographic setting was an infant.
Norvell has entered a guilty plea to a single charge of possessing child pornography involving prepubescent minors, which is a federal offense carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.
