Cody Swinnerton, Sexually Exploiting Children, Ohio 2019

Berea Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Sex Crimes

A federal judge has sentenced Cody Swinnerton, 25, of Berea, Ohio, to 35 years in prison with 25 years supervised release to follow. He was also ordered to pay $45,900 in special assessments.

Swinnerton pleaded guilty on September 10, 2019, to seven counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children and one count each of Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography.

According to an affidavit in the case, Swinnerton began his exploitation of children in 2013 when he engaged in sexual conduct with a sleeping child and then videotaped the assault with his cellphone.

He would later contact young athletes on social media sites, congratulate them, and share photos. Simultaneously, he would contact them online using a teenage female persona and solicit, entice, and coerce them to send sexually explicit images of themselves.

The case came to the attention of law enforcement when the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip that Swinnerton appeared to be enticing and coercing minors to produce sexually explicit images.

A search warrant was executed at Swinnerton's Berea residence on January 25, 2019. Relatives said Swinnerton was on vacation in Australia at the time of the search, however, ICAC investigators were able to seize several of Swinnerton's computer devices.

“Let this 35-year prison sentence send a message to those would sexually assault and exploit our children,” said United States Attorney Herdman. “We will find you anywhere in the world and we will never quit until you are brought to justice and held accountable for the unspeakable harm you have caused.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/berea-ohio-man-sentenced-35-years-sexually-exploiting-children