Jason M. Frierson U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada
A man from Waterville, Ohio, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his involvement in the sexual exploitation of children through social media. United States District Judge Cristina D. Silva handed down the sentence.
Court documents reveal that Todd Maxson, aged 56, initiated contact with a 14-year-old girl in Nevada via Telegram on September 25, 2023. Over several weeks until October 19, 2023, Maxson coerced the victim into providing sexually explicit images and videos in exchange for payment through Cash App. He targeted females showing signs of suicidal or depressive tendencies and encouraged them to produce content depicting self-harm. Maxson even sent knives to assist them in creating such videos.
In October 2024, Maxson pleaded guilty to charges including sexual exploitation of children, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. As part of his sentence under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, he must register as a sex offender.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Afroza Yeasmin.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Justice Department in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. It coordinates federal, state, and local resources to apprehend offenders who exploit children online while identifying and rescuing victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood visit www.justice.gov/psc. To report suspected child sexual exploitation contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or online at https://report.cybertip.org.
