COLUMBUS, Ohio – A registered sex offender pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today on charges related to child pornography and abuse.
Brian J. Roberts, 44, of Washington Court House, admitted to sharing disturbing material of infants and toddlers. According to court documents, federal agents began investigating Roberts as a result of his activity across various dark web sites dedicated to abuse.
Roberts, the DOJ said, sexually exploited an approximately 3-year-old boy he had access to from November 2022 until August 2023 and uploaded videos and photos of the abuse. The defendant reportedly uploaded 195 images to one dark website, more than 100 of which focused on child sexual abuse of babies and toddlers as young as three weeks old.
Roberts was a twice-convicted sex offender at the time of his online conduct. He has prior convictions in Madison and Clark counties and, at the time of his arrest, had an active warrant in Highland County for telecommunications harassment toward a family member of the 3-year-old boy based on his alleged attempts to contact the child.
Sexually exploiting a minor is a federal crime punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison and possessing child pornography carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. If the Court finds that Roberts’s prior conviction qualifies as a predicate offense, he will face 25 to 50 years in prison and 10 to 20 years in prison respectively.