COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A registered sex offender in Columbus is facing new accusations that he traded drugs for sex acts with teens, and also tried to destroy evidence with his toilet.
Authorities took Terrance P. Cummings, 29, into custody Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio. He faces federal charges including:
- Sexual exploitation of a minor
- Distributing or receiving child pornography
- Coercion and enticement of a minor
- Obstruction of justice
At minimum, conviction on the first two counts could see Cummings spend 35 years in prison, and at maximum, a life sentence.
The arrest comes after investigators previously searched Cummings’ apartment on a warrant in August. They found multiple kinds of drugs, and also discovered two iPhones in a bathroom toilet’s water tank. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Cummings tried to submerge and destroy them after he learned about the warrant.
When investigators searched Cummings’ electronics and accounts, they found more than 18,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors said Cummings obtained the content, as well as sex acts, through trading money, gifts and drugs with underage girls. The case began with a tip that Cummings was making deals with a 16-year-old in exchange for sex, according to an affidavit filed in July.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the specific drugs Cummings sold or traded included fentanyl, marijuana, Xanax, cocaine, acid and ecstasy. It confirmed he engaged in sex acts with and requested explicit content from multiple minor victims, but did not specify a number.
Cummings was already on the sex offender registry thanks to a 2016 conviction on two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Franklin County Common Pleas Court records. Cummings also failed to notify law enforcement that he changed his address in 2021, which resulted in another felony conviction. And in April 2023, Cummings also pleaded guilty to a single drug trafficking charge.
The FBI asked anyone who believes they may be a victim of Cummings, or know a potential victim, to report it by clicking here.
