Beach City Man Charged with Distributing Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct 

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a two-count indictment charging Rick Hunt, age 41, of Beach City, Ohio, with distributing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and possessing child pornography.

The indictment charges from on or about December 22, 2011, through on or about January 18, 2012, Hunt knowingly distributed computer video files, which files contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, the indictment charges that on January 19, 2012, Hunt possessed a computer containing 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.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Canton office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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.