Registered sex offender from Van Wert sentenced to 19 years in prison for downloading images of young children being raped and abused

A Van Wert man was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for downloading images of young children being raped and abused.

Roy Allen Nichols, 56, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison. Nichols previously pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of child pornography. He was a registered sex offender because of previous convictions in state court for pandering and criminal enticement.

Nichols in June 2017 was found to have downloaded multiple images of children as young as two years old being abused and raped by adults, according to court documents.

"These are cases with real victims, children whose lives will be forever changed because adults assaulted and violated them," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman, for the Northern District of Ohio, said in a news release. "We will continue to prosecute those who re-victimize these children by sharing and downloading these images."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Ballard Tangeman following an investigation by the FBI in Lima.