Three Ohio Men Plead Guilty in Case Involving Sexual Abuse of Toddlers

COLUMBUS, Ohio – All three defendants in a child pornography case have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court.

David E. Fairchild, 45, of Kirkersville, Ohio pleaded guilty today. Jesse G. Szuba, 31, of Newark, Ohio, pleaded guilty pleaded guilty in late August. Mike Allen, 36, of Heath, Ohio pleaded guilty on October 30.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin, Steve Francis, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the pleas entered into before U.S. District Judge Michael H Watson.

The three men were charged in May 2018 in a second superseding indictment that was unsealed in late October.

According to court documents, in January 2018, the Franklin County ICAC Task Force received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a video depicting child sexual abuse. The video was uploaded to Google from the username “David TwistedBottomFreak Fairchild” and depicted an adult male anally penetrating a toddler-aged child.

Fairchild sexually abused a female victim, born in 2016, and created child pornography involving the victim.

Likewise, Szuba attempted to produce child pornography involving a boy born in 2014.

Szuba and Fairchild met on Craigslist and communicated with each other about sexually abusing the toddlers. During their communications, they exchanged child pornography files and discussed plans to engage in various sex acts with each other and the victims.

Further, Szuba suggested other sex acts that Fairchild perpetrate against the female victim and asked Fairchild to send Szuba pictures or videos of that abuse.

In response to watching a video of Fairchild sexually abusing the toddler girl, Szuba messaged Fairchild that he “liked” the video “espically [sic] when she started whimpering.” Between January 26 and January 31, 2018, Szuba repeatedly requested, and Fairchild repeatedly sent, images and videos depicting sexual abuse of the female toddler.

Fairchild sent child pornography files to Allen, as well.

Fairchild pleaded guilty to conspiring to produce child pornography, a federal crime punishable by a range of 15 to 30 years in prison and committing the offense while required to register as a sex offender, which carries a mandatory 10-year sentence consecutive to any other sentence. Szuba pleaded guilty to advertising for child pornography, which is also punishable by a range of 15 to 30 years in prison. Allen pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography, which carries a potential sentence of five to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the Franklin County ICAC Task Force, HSI, FBI and Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Heather A. Hill and Jonathan J.C. Grey, who are prosecuting the case.

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