Shelby County man pleads guilty to sending money to Filipino mothers in exchange for child pornography

DAYTON – A Sidney, Ohio, man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to attempting to produce child pornography. He faces a minimum of 25 years and up to 50 years in prison.

Charles Lee Frazier, 41, admitted that he solicited child pornography from impoverished mothers in the Philippines.

According to court documents, Frazier used Filipino dating sites to connect with women in poverty. In subsequent Skype chats with the women, he would ask them for sexually explicit pictures of their children in exchange for money. Specifically, Frazier’s conversations included requests for pornography of naked minor children engaging in sexual conduct with other children or with their mothers. Frazier distributed child pornography to several women, as examples of what images he wanted them to create with their children, or with instructions to show the images to their children to convince them to engage in that behavior.  The defendant also had discussions about committing violent acts against children. For example, he discussed killing infants during sexual assaults.

From April through July 2019, Frazier sent money via MoneyGram from a Sidney, Ohio, store to women in the Philippines in exchange for child pornography. Frazier sent approximately $800 to one individual in exchange for nude images of a seven-year-old girl. One of the women in the online chats stated she needed the money from Frazier for food.

Frazier was a registered sex offender at the time of the offense. He was convicted in a 2011 federal case for receiving child pornography. He was sentenced to 84 months in prison for that conviction.

Frazier’s prior offense makes the new conduct punishable by at least 25 years and up to 50 years in prison. Congress sets the minimum and maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Sidney Police Chief William Balling announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated and Assistant United States Attorney Christina E. Mahy is representing the United States in this case.

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