U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker | U.S. Department of Justice
Dennis Stopar, a 65-year-old resident of Flushing, Ohio, has entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court to charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors and possession of child pornography. The plea agreement proposes a prison sentence ranging from 30 to 60 years.
Court documents detail that between 2022 and 2023, Stopar committed sexual assaults against several female minors, coerced a male minor into engaging in sexual acts with another child, and produced hundreds of videos and images documenting the abuse.
In December 2023, Dropbox, Inc. submitted a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) after identifying child pornography uploads linked to an account on its platform. The IP address connected to this account was traced back within a day, leading investigators to Stopar's residence—a trailer associated with the identified IP—where he lived as a convicted sex offender.
Authorities from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on December 28, seizing various electronic devices from Stopar's property. Following further examination through a federal search warrant, federal charges were brought against him in April 2024.
Stopar has previously been convicted of rape involving ongoing sexual abuse starting when his victim was approximately six years old until they reached sixteen.
The announcement regarding Stopar's guilty plea was made by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Cincinnati Division; and Belmont County Sheriff David L. Lucas. The prosecution team includes Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Jennifer M. Rausch.
