Kaitlin Durbin,
CLEVELAND – A former Mansfield
police officer found guilty of producing and distributing child pornography
will spend 20 years in prison, a federal judge decided Monday.
In a plea deal, Robert
Anderson, 69, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child
pornography, one count of receiving visual depictions of minors engaged in
sexually explicit conduct and one count of removal of property to prevent
seizure, according to the Northern District court docket.
A fifth count of possession of
child pornography was dismissed as a part of the plea agreement.
Anderson’s original plea
agreement was for a sentencing of 180 months, or 15 years, in prison, but Judge
James S. Gwin set the term at 20 years Monday, Mike Tobin with the U.S.
District Attorney’s Office said.
Anderson also was required to
pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $400, $100 for each of the conviction
counts, according to the plea agreement.
Anderson’s public defender
Charles Fleming did not return calls Monday.
Two of Anderson’s sentences
carried a minimum of 15 years alone, the agreement said. Count three carried a
minimum of 5 years, and count four suggested a maximum of 5 years.
Anderson was arrested in February
as a part of a larger pornography sting headed by Homeland Security
Investigations. His charges related to activity on a website, identified in the
original complaint only as “Website A,” that allows people to post, distribute
and trade sexually explicit images of children.
He allegedly used the website
to share pictures and videos — “some homemade and hidden cam” — of young girls’
underwear and juveniles engaged in sexually explicit conduct between Jan. 1,
2007, and April 26, 2011.
During a search of Anderson’s
home in Lucas on Feb. 6, authorities found a 64 GB thumb drive containing
numerous hidden camera videos taken by Anderson in his bathroom. The camera was
positioned so it would capture close-up video of individuals changing into
swimsuits or preparing to use the restroom, the agreement said.
One of the juveniles involved
is from north central Ohio, the complaint said.
The search also revealed
Anderson did knowingly receive and distribute the explicit conduct
internationally, between Oct. 9, 2012, and Nov. 18, 2013.
Specifically, Anderson’s Google
email account showed he traded images of child pornography with two other
Internet users between Sept. 18, 2013, and Nov. 18, 2013. Images included
depictions of prepubescent minors engaged in intercourse.
Additionally, 2,699 images and
502 videos were found on three thumb drives he tried to hide during the search.
Those images included depictions of bondage and intercourse with children as
young as toddlers. Images were downloaded as far back as Oct. 9, 2012, the
agreement said.
Tobin could not comment on
where Anderson would serve his term.
