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Press Release

Fairfield County man arrested on federal child pornography charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Lancaster man was arrested yesterday afternoon on federal child pornography charges and appeared in federal court in Columbus today.

It is alleged that Carson A. Bigham, 23, possessed, distributed or received child pornography.

According to charging documents, law enforcement received two separate Cybertips from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) related to a Columbus man who was charged with federal child pornography crimes in March, including exploitation of a minor.  One report was from Kik messenger regarding the distribution of 13 child pornography files. The second report was from Sniffies LLC, a map-based hookup application for gay, bisexual and bicurious men.

As part of their investigation, devices were seized from the Columbus man. Law enforcement’s forensic review of the devices revealed conversations between the Columbus man and Bigham. In the conversations, Bigham allegedly uses the screenname “daddy.” The conversations between the two men were sexual in nature and included discussions about engaging in sex with minors. Bigham also allegedly received child pornography during these discussions, including files which depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sex acts with adults.

Law enforcement officers learned that Bigham is employed as a Columbus firefighter and photographs of Bigham match those sent to the Columbus man during their conversations.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin; other members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force; and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Columbus Airport Group and Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Updated May 22, 2025
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component
USAO - Ohio, Southern

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