WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio (WCMH) – A twice-registered sex offender from central Ohio accused of sexually exploiting a minor and possessing child pornography has pleaded guilty in court.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Brian Roberts, 44, admitted to sharing child pornography of infants and toddlers and sexually abusing a young boy.
The guilty plea ended an investigation that began in 2022 when federal agents began investigating Roberts as a result of his activity across various dark web sites dedicated to sexual abuse of children. Between November 2022 and August 2023, Roberts sexually exploited an approximate 3-year-old boy and uploaded videos and photos of the abuse.
One video, the attorney’s office said, showed more than three minutes of Roberts abusing the child. The defendant uploaded 195 photos to one dark web site, including more than 100 focusing on the sexual abuse of toddlers and infants as young as three weeks old.
Roberts, of Washington Court House, was a twice-convicted sex offender at the time of his online conduct. He has prior convictions in Madison and Clark counties and had an active warrant in Highland County for telecommunications harassment toward a family member of the 3-year-old boy based on his alleged attempts to contact the child.
In 2000, Roberts was sentenced to six months in prison and five years of community control. Guilty of pandering obscenities involving a juvenile in Madison County, he became a registered sex offender.
Ten years later, he was convicted of the same crime and was sentenced to five years in prison, registering as a Tier II sex offender.
Roberts faces up to 30 years in prison for exploitation and 20 years for possessing child pornography. The attorney’s office said that if the court finds Roberts’ prior convictions qualifies as a predicate offense, or a crime which is a component of a larger, more serious crime, he could face 25-50 years and 10-20 years respectively.
A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled according to court records.