Federal grand jury indicts Ohio man for sexually exploiting children

BOISE, Idaho – A 34-year-old Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents in Boise and Cincinnati.

Timothy Raymond Schmidt, of Cincinnati, is charged with knowingly using, persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing two minor children in Idaho to engage in sexually explicit activity in order to produce visual images and live visual depictions of that conduct. The alleged activity occurred between Jan. 28 and April 9, 2015.

Schmidt is currently in custody in Fayetteville, Ohio, charged by state authorities with one count of rape, and two counts of sexual imposition of a minor. Those charges are unrelated to the Idaho investigation.

In addition to HSI, several other agencies are involved in the investigation, including the Valley County Sheriff's Office; the Fayetteville Police Department; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio; and the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case is a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.