A registered sex offender from Fayette County was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison today in U.S. District Court for the sexual assault and exploitation of a young child, as well as for sharing child sexual abuse material on the dark web.
Brian J. Roberts, 44, of Washington Court House, was found guilty of sexually abusing a 3-year-old boy and distributing explicit content involving infants and toddlers. The sentencing was announced by Acting United States Attorney Kelly A. Norris for the Southern District of Ohio and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit. Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison presided over the case, with Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski representing the prosecution.
Court documents reveal that federal agents initiated an investigation into Roberts due to his activities on multiple dark web sites dedicated to child sexual abuse. Between November 2022 and August 2023, Roberts exploited the young victim, uploading videos and photos of the abuse. One particularly disturbing video, titled “Preview.mp4,” captured over three minutes of Roberts sexually abusing the child, concluding with the chilling promise of “NEXT TIME…POTTY FUN!”
Further investigation uncovered that Roberts uploaded 195 images to a dark web site, with over 100 depicting the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers, some as young as 3 weeks old. At the time of his offenses, Roberts was a twice-convicted sex offender with prior convictions in Madison and Clark counties. Additionally, he had an active warrant in Highland County for telecommunications harassment, stemming from alleged attempts to contact the victim’s family.
The case highlights the ongoing efforts of federal authorities to combat child exploitation and online crimes.
