Cardington Man Charged with Producing Child Pornography

Faces Mandatory 15 Years in Prison if Convicted

COLUMBUS, OH—Steven Ray Tackett, 45, of Cardington has been charged in a federal complaint with producing child pornography after investigators determined that sexually explicit photos of an 8-year-old girl that had been posted on an Internet photo-sharing site were produced with a cell phone camera belonging to him.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cybercrimes Task Force, and Galion Police Chief Brian Saterfield announced the charge contained in criminal complaint filed here.

According to court documents, detectives in the Galion Police Special Investigation Unit began investigating Tackett as the result of a complaint received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline and shared with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force based in Cleveland. Galion Police determined that Tackett had recently moved from Galion to Cardington.

Detectives in the Special Investigation Unit questioned Tackett April 8, 2010 in connection with the production of the photographs and referred the case to the FBI task force for investigation and prosecution because the photos had been produced using camera phone that had travelled in interstate commerce.

Producing child pornography is punishable by at least 15 years and up to 30 years' imprisonment. Tackett has been transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Tackett will remain in custody pending a detention hearing Monday, May 10 at 3 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King.

“Anyone can help in the fight against child sexual exploitation by reporting instances of child pornography to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678,” Stewart said. “The information will be shared with law enforcement for investigation and possible prosecution.”

Stewart commended the joint investigation and cooperation by the Galion Police Special Investigation Unit, FBI Task Force and ICAC Task Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hunter, who is prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant should be presumed innocent unless convicted in court.