A West Virginia elementary school counselor was sentenced to 25 years in prison for child exploitation crimes following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.
Todd Christopher Roatsey, 43, of Elkview, was sentenced Dec. 19 for attempted production of child pornography and attempted enticement of a minor, according to a Department of Homeland Security news release. He was a former counselor at Pinch Elementary School.
"Today's sentencing is reflective of just how despicable and damaging Todd Roatsey's crimes against children are and emphasizes HSI’s dedication to holding perpetrators accountable," HSI-Washington Acting Special Agent In Charge Derek W. Gordon said in the release. "HSI will do all we can to prevent any crime against children from going unpunished. HSI remains dedicated to protecting our most vulnerable population against sexual predators who seek to take advantage of their innocence."
Roatsey's time in prison is to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution to his victims and to register as a sex offender, the release reported.
Roatsey allegedly used a Snapchat account to pose as an 18-year-old and communicate with girls at the elementary school, two of whom were 12 years old. During conversations with the girls, "Roatsey received numerous videos of the minor females doing what he called 'sexy' dance routines or gymnastics poses such as full backbends," news release said.
"The minor females often wore only sports bras and shorts in these videos," the news release said. "Roatsey admitted to responding to these videos by telling the minor females they were 'hot' and 'sexy.'"
The release reported Roatsey persuaded his victims to send him videos of them masturbating, and he admitted to sending them videos of himself masturbating. Additional child pornographic materials Roatsey admitted to distributing, receiving and possessing included images and videos of infants and toddlers as well as other prepubescent minors.
"As an elementary school counselor, Roatsey intentionally placed himself in a position of trust over the kinds of children to whom he was sexually attracted," U.S. Attorney for West Virginia's Southern District Will Thompson said in the release. "In our communities, schools are the only constant for a lot of children. A lot of the time, school is the safe place. The fact that Mr. Roatsey made this not a safe place was, I find, to be very horrific."
