A 26-year-old woman from Beachwood, Ohio, was sentenced on July 22 to 70 years in prison after admitting to sexually abusing two children in her care and producing videos of the abuse for distribution on social media. Molly Elisabeth Duncan received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker following her guilty plea in April to two counts of sexual exploitation of children, distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and possession of child pornography.
Duncan was also ordered to serve 25 years of supervised release after imprisonment. In addition, she must pay $20,000 toward the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and $8,000 toward the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Assistance Act.
According to court documents and evidence presented during sentencing, Duncan worked as a nanny in Northeast Ohio for approximately ten years. The abuse occurred between November 2023 and July 2024 while she cared for victims under the age of two in Portage County and Geauga County. Investigators found several files containing child sexual abuse material related to each victim on Duncan’s electronic devices. She shared these videos with others who had a sexual interest in children through a social media platform.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ Cleveland Field Office and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with assistance from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret A. Kane and Michelle M. Baeppler prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices that aims to combat child sexual exploitation online by coordinating federal, state, and local resources.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio serves as chief federal law enforcement officer across forty northern counties within federal law enforcement operations; it enforces criminal laws related to national security and public corruption while defending civil suits against the United States; it promotes community safety through outreach programs; collaborates with schools and law enforcement agencies; operates victim services, according to information available on its official website.