Belmont Man Sentenced to 60 Years for Child Sex Exploitation

GRIM NEWS: A Belmont County, Ohio man has been handed a 60-year prison sentence for sexually exploiting multiple children and possessing child pornography.

Dennis Stopar, 65, of Flushing, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today after being caught with hundreds of videos and images showing the abuse of at least nine minors, both male and female. Most of the victims were in foster care with a relative of Stopar at the time of the assaults.

Stopar’s descent into depravity began when he was caught uploading child pornography to Dropbox in December 2023. An investigation revealed the 65-year-old had been raping one of the minor victims for nearly a decade, starting when she was just six years old. The creep also possessed images and videos of at least seven other children.

Stopar’s electronic devices were processed via federal search warrant, revealing his sickening collection of child abuse material. He pleaded guilty in December 2024, facing the stiff sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.

The charges against Stopar were brought forth by Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Jennifer M. Rausch, with support from the FBI Cincinnati Division and Belmont County Sheriff James G. Zusack.

Belmont County’s streets are now a little safer today, but the scars left by Stopar’s sickening crimes will never fade.

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