Security News: Hocking County couple charged federally with producing child pornography

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Logan, Ohio, individuals have been transferred to federal custody on charges alleging they created child pornography of at least three minor children, one as young as three-to-four years of age.

Robert Gemienhardt, 36, and Carrie Daniels, 41, each appeared in U.S. District Court on April 8.

According to court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip from Kik messenger regarding Gemienhardt’s alleged online child exploitation activities. The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office then began investigating the allegations.

Subsequent search warrants executed by the Hocking County Sherriff’s Office, in conjunction with the FBI, revealed that Gemienhardt and Daniels were acting together and allegedly produced child pornography through the grooming and sexual abuse of minor victims. It is alleged that Daniels also distributed images of the sexual abuse to Gemienhardt.  In addition to the images Gemienhardt received from Daniels, Gemienhardt also possessed more than 1,100 images of child pornography.

Gemienhardt and Daniels were originally arrested on local charges in early March 2022.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Hocking County Sheriff Lanny E. North announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

Criminal complaints merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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