Kyle D. Lawrence, Child Exploitation, Ohio 2024

CINCINNATI – A New York man was arrested last night on federal child exploitation charges filed in the Southern District of Ohio after an investigation into a missing Colerain teenager revealed he was previously involved with the minor.

Kyle D. Lawrence, 43, of Buffalo, New York, was arrested at his residence. He appeared in federal court in New York today.

According to charging documents, on February 16, Colerain Township police began investigating the circumstances surrounding a missing teenager. Officers reviewed video surveillance from the minor’s home and discovered that in January, the teenager entered a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with New York license plates. License plate readers and receipts confirm that Lawrence allegedly rented the vehicle and that he and the minor stayed at a Cincinnati hotel together on January 31.

Lawrence is charged with:

1. Transportation with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity (a crime punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison)

2. Travel with the intent to engage in illicit conduct (up to 30 years in prison)

3. Transportation of child pornography (five to 20 years in prison)

Lawrence is being held pending further proceedings. This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

This case is being jointly investigated by the FBI divisions in Cincinnati and Buffalo, Colerain Township Police Department, New York State Police, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

Related Federal Cases