Miami County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Sexually Explicit Videos of Children He Babysat

DAYTON—Kevin D. Todd, 41, of Ludlow Falls, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of sexual exploitation of children for producing sexually explicit videos of pre-pubescent children he babysat and offering online to trade the videos.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); William Hayes, acting special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Ohio and Michigan; Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott, Miami County Sheriff Charles A. Cox; and Darke County Sheriff Toby L. Spencer announced the plea entered yesterday before U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black.

Terms of the plea agreement call for Todd to spend at least 20 years and up to 25 years in prison. Judge Black will review the plea agreement and has scheduled sentencing for Todd for July 11.

“Sexual exploitation of children by someone who has the responsibility of caring for them is a crime that merits swift, sure punishment,” U.S. Attorney Stewart said. “I want to encourage anyone with any information involving any other possible victims of exploitation to call local law enforcement.”

According to court documents, an undercover investigator with the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) responded to an ad Todd posted on the Internet in November 2012 seeking people looking for “taboo.” Through a series of e-mails, Todd asked the undercover investigator to meet and trade videos and pictures of child pornography. They arranged a meeting and officers arrested Todd on November 24, 2012, when he showed up for the meeting. Investigators found DVDs and other storage media containing pornographic videos and photos in Todd’s car.

Forensic examination found that Todd had produced the videos of the minor females between August 2010 and November 2012 in the bathroom of his residence.

Todd has been held without bond since his arrest.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the agencies involved, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheila Lafferty, who is representing the United States in this case.