Chillicothe Man Sentenced For Possessing Pornographic Pictures Of Young Children

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Daniel J. Akehurst, 46, of Chillicothe, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 84 months’ imprisonment for possessing child pornography.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Senior Judge George C. Smith.

According to court documents, in September 2013, investigators connected 59 images of child pornography to Akehurst’s IP address. The files depicted nude or partially nude pre-pubescent females, approximately one to seven years old, being sexually abused.

When a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s residence, ICAC Task Force officers discovered more than 16,000 images and videos of child pornography on a computer and thumb drive.

Akehurst pleaded guilty on December 22, 2014, to knowingly possessing visual depictions of child pornography.

The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer facilitated crimes against children. The following agencies are members:

Franklin County Sheriff’s OfficeUpper Arlington Police Department Grove City Police DepartmentColumbus Police Department Grandview Heights Police DepartmentWhitehall Police Department Hilliard Police DepartmentWesterville Police Department Homeland Security InvestigationsU.S. Secret Service Ohio ICACFranklin County Prosecutor's Office

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the Franklin County ICAC Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica H. Kim and Heather A. Hill, who are representing the United States in this case.