COLUMBUS, Ohio - Eric D. Chavis, 24, of Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography.
Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and members of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, including Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, announced the plea entered into before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.
According to the indictment in this case, Chavis recruited minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct in his rap music videos. Chavis then posted those videos via the Internet on websites including Facebook.com, Pornhub.com, Youtube.com and Instagram.com.
He conspired with co-defendants Lamont D. Abbington, 30, of Kissimmee, Fla., Carlton S. Jackson, 30, of Toledo, and Mareekus E. Davis, 22, of Columbus, to record sexually explicit videos of at least three minor females. Chavis took an active role in directing the videos and actively distributed them on the various social media websites and sold DVDs of the videos from various pornography websites.
Chavis faces a sentencing range of 15 years up to 30 years in prison, as well as a term of supervised release of at least five years up to a lifetime of supervision.
Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force - which was formed in 2012 and is part of the Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, and which also includes authorities from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Columbus Division of Police, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Powell Police Department and the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office - as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Heather A. Hill and Jessica H. Kim, who are representing the United States in this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
