Six people were indicted in federal court for crimes related
to child pornography or child exploitation.
Indicted are Jason Warner, 27, of Massillon; Austin Lloyd,
31, of Ravenna; Nicholas Snyder, 36, of Wooster; Andrew Pitts, 36, of
Youngstown; Justin McKnight, 36, of North Canton, and Allen Bernhardt, 30, of
Canton. Their cases are not otherwise related.
Warner was charged with transporting visual depictions of
minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Warner in October 2016 used a
computer to transport numerous computer files which contained visual depictions
of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the
indictment.
Lloyd was charged with receiving, distributing and
possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He
knowingly received and distributed numerous computer files between 2015 and
2018 which contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually
explicit conduct. Lloyd possessed a
cellular phone on June 7 which contained child pornography, according to the
indictment.
Snyder was charged with receiving, distributing and
possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In
June 2017, Snyder knowingly received and distributed numerous computer files
which contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit
conduct. Snyder on July 18, 2017, also
possessed a cellular phone which contained child pornography, according to the
indictment.
Pitts was charged with enticement. The Indictment charges
from around Feb. 25-26, 2018, Pitts did knowingly use facilities and means of
interstate and foreign commerce, that is, a cell phone, to attempt to persuade,
induce, entice and coerce an individual who had not attained the age of 18
years, that is, a 12-year-old boy to engage in illegal sexual activity with
him, according to the indictment.
McKnight was charged with receiving, distributing and
possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The Indictment charges that from Jan. through March 30, 2018, McKnight
knowingly received and distributed numerous computer files which contained
visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The
indictment also charges that on or about April 24, 2018, Richards possessed a
Samsung cellphone and an HP Blue laptop computer that contained child
pornography.
Bernhardt was charged with receiving, distributing and
possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The Indictment charges from Dec. 29, 2017 through March 22, 2018, Bernhardt
knowingly received and distributed numerous computer files which contained visual depictions of real minors
engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment also charges that on or
about March 23, 2018, Bernhardt possessed a Motorola Droid cell phone that contained
child pornography.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by
the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the
defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense
and the characteristics of the violation.
In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in
most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys
Michael A. Sullivan and Carole Skutnik following investigations by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task
Force, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Mahoning Valley Human
Trafficking Task Force
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of
guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair
trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt.
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