FBI Cleveland
Public Affairs Officer Susan Licate
July 30, 2020

FBI Cleveland Announces Arrest in Child Sex Crimes Case

The Cleveland Division of the FBI—Canton Resident Agency’s Child Exploitation Task Force announces the arrest of William Aaron Doty, Jr., age 33, of Canton, Ohio.

A tip was received in June 2020 alleging a person using the username “d.beas22” on Instagram was communicating with at least four victims under the age of 12 and in those conversations sexually explicit statements of sexual activities he wished to engage in were made. “d.beas22” also solicited nude photos and videos from the identified victims.

The investigation revealed the username “d.beas22” logged in on the same computer within a very short time of a Facebook account with username Aaron Doty. The IP address where both log ins occurred was from a local Canton University where William Aaron Doty, Jr., was listed as an employee. Administrative subpoenas confirmed the owner of both accounts as William Aaron Doty, Jr.

A search warrant was executed at Doty’s residence on July 21, 2020. Doty made several admissions to investigators including that he has been using Instagram for two to four years for the purposes of having young girls, age 8 and up, send him “naked” images and videos. Doty is also known to use the name “Davin” and also indicated he has used other social media platforms to include “Snapchat”, “Likee,” as well as “Instagram”.

William Aaron Doty, Jr., was placed into custody without incident for charges involving sexual exploitation of children, and receipt and distribution of visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Anyone with an under age minor that has had interaction with “d.beas22”, Davin, or William Aaron Doty, Jr., through any social media platform is urged to contact the FBI at 216-622-6842.

The Canton Child Exploitation Task Force is comprised of detectives from the Canton Police Department, the Mansfield Police Department, and the FBI.

A complaint 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.

For questions regarding this press release, please contact SA Vicki Anderson at 216-522-1400 or at vagregg@fbi.gov.