Ohio man pleads guilty to receipt of child pornography

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio man pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of receipt of child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jordan T. Allen, 24, of London, Ohio, faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart, Southern District of Ohio; Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Ohio and Michigan; Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott; and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien announced the plea entered Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Michael Watson.

According to a statement read by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hunter during the hearing, an investigator with the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force was patrolling the Internet in June 2011 and responded to a posting by Allen seeking someone to share his interest in "taboo" things.

After an exchange of emails with Allen, the investigator determined that Allen was interested in having sex with pre-teen children. The investigator arranged to meet Allen in a restaurant parking lot west of Columbus. When Allen arrived, ICAC officers arrested him. They found a stuffed animal in Allen's car which Allen said he had bought for the 10-year-old girl he expected to meet. Allen has been in custody since his arrest.

ICAC agents searched Allen's London residence and found a computer containing approximately 20 child pornography videos Allen had downloaded from the Internet.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the ICAC agents, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Russo, with the Franklin County Prosecutors Office, who are prosecuting the case.

In addition to investigators with ICE HSI and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the Franklin County ICAC Task Force includes investigators from the police departments in Columbus, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Whitehall, Grove City and Grandview Heights, as well as investigators from the Ohio ICAC.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.