MASON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PRODUCING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Public Affairs Officer
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CINCINNATI –Andrew Faires Keith, 27, of Mason, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to 15 counts of producing child pornography as well as one count each of transportation and possession of child pornography.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Division (FBI), and West Chester Police Chief Erik Niehaus announced the pleas entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith.
According to a statement of facts filed with the guilty pleas, Keith swapped 15 photographs he had taken of him sexually assaulting a minor male child with an individual in South Carolina who was under investigation for trading child pornography. FBI agents searched Keith’s Mason home and a storage unit he rented in January 2011. They seized cell phones, computers, zip drives and other similar products. Forensic analysis found Keith still possessed the above referenced photographs in addition to numerous other images of child pornography. The analysis also determined Keith had taken sexually explicit photos of more than one child. Some of the other images possessed by Keith included images of children as young as infants being sexually abused. The total number of images is well in excess of 600.
FBI agents and West Chester Police arrested Keith on January 20, 2011 after a federal grand jury indicted him. He has been in custody since his arrest.
The terms of the plea agreement call for Keith to be sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and up to life in prison. Judge Beckwith will determine whether or not to accept the plea agreement following a pre-sentence investigation by the court.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by FBI agents and West Chester Police detectives, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Muncy, who is prosecuting the case.
