Todd Maxson, Child Sexual Exploitation, Nevada 2024

A disturbing case of child sexual exploitation has come to light in Nevada, with a 56-year-old man being sentenced to 15 years in prison for his crimes.

Todd Maxson, a resident of Waterville, Ohio, began a conversation with a 14-year-old girl in Nevada via Telegram on September 25, 2023. He would go on to order, receive, and pay for sexually explicit images and videos of the victim via Cash App almost daily between September 25, 2023, and October 19, 2023.

Maxson’s crimes did not stop there. He also sought out females expressing suicidal or depressive tendencies and encouraged the behavior by requesting sexual content depicting self-harm, cutting, and bleeding. He would even send knives to the children to help them make the videos.

In October 2024, Maxson pleaded guilty to one count each of sexual exploitation of children, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Maxson must register as a sex offender and keep the registration current. This is in addition to his 15-year prison sentence.

Acting United States Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement. This case was investigated by the FBI and Assistant United States Attorney Afroza Yeasmin prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. If you have any information on suspected child sexual exploitation, you can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or online at https://report.cybertip.org.

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