A registered sex offender, Brian J. Roberts, 44, from Washington Court House, Ohio, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of sexually exploiting a minor and possessing child pornography. The plea was entered in Columbus today.
Roberts admitted to sharing child pornography involving infants and toddlers and sexually abusing a young boy. According to court documents, federal agents initiated an investigation into Roberts due to his activities on various dark web sites dedicated to the sexual abuse of children.
The exploitation involved a 3-year-old boy whom Roberts had access to from November 2022 until August 2023. He uploaded videos and photos documenting the abuse. One video titled "Preview.mp4" showed more than three minutes of abuse and concluded with the words “NEXT TIME…POTTY FUN!”
Roberts uploaded 195 images to one dark web site, with over 100 images focusing on the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers as young as three weeks old.
At the time of his online conduct, Roberts was already a twice-convicted sex offender with prior convictions in Madison and Clark counties. Additionally, he had an active warrant in Highland County for telecommunications harassment towards a family member of the 3-year-old boy due to alleged attempts to contact the child.
The crime of sexually exploiting a minor carries a federal penalty ranging from 15 to 30 years in prison, while possessing child pornography could result in up to 20 years in prison. If Roberts's prior conviction is deemed a predicate offense by the Court, he may face sentences ranging from 25 to 50 years for exploitation and 10 to 20 years for possession.
Sentencing will be determined by the Court based on advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.
The announcement of Roberts's guilty plea was made by Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, along with Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.
