Reynoldsburg Man Sentenced For Distributing Child Pornography

COLUMBUS – James F. Druggan, Jr., 65, of Reynoldsburg, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for distributing child pornography.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, John Barrios, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division, Westerville Police Chief Joseph Morbitzer, Reynoldsburg Police Chief Jim O’Neill and Powell Police Chief Gary L. Vest announced the sentence handed down yesterday by U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus.

According to court documents, Druggan used an e-mail account to communicate with two different undercover agents, one posing as a 13-year-old female and one posing as the parent of three minor children. The defendant sent numerous child pornography files to each of the undercover officers via e-mail.

Druggan pleaded guilty on May 8, 2014, to one count of distributing child pornography.

“Crimes involving child pornography exacerbate the sexual victimization of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather A. Hill told the court. “This is not a victimless crime, but a crime that infinitely perpetuates the pain and suffering of the children that were abused to produce the images and videos that the defendant and others like him seek for their own deviant interests.”

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/.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Heather A. Hill, who is representing the United States in this case.