Belmont County sex offender sentenced to 15 years in prison for distributing, receiving child sexual abuse material

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 42-year-old convicted sex offender from Flushing, Ohio, was sentenced in federal court today to 180 months in prison for distributing and receiving child pornography.

Joshua E. Green was also sentenced to serve his time in a prison facility that provides sexual offender treatment and serve 20 years under court supervision after completing his prison sentence.

“Repeat offenders who have shown that they remain a threat to the children around them must be kept away from society for a significant period of time,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

According to court documents, the investigation into Green began when he distributed images of himself to an undercover FBI agent posing as a 12-year-old female. Green admitted that in September 2021, he engaged in conversations through an online messenger app with the purported 12-year-old female and distributed sexually explicit images of himself along with pictures of his face.  These images ultimately led to the identification of Green as a registered sex offender.

Further investigation revealed that Green had also distributed child sexual abuse material in January 2022 and February 2022 via the mobile application Kik.

A search warrant was executed at Green’s residence and numerous digital media devices were seized which contained additional evidence of his child exploitation activities.

Green pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2022, to distributing and receiving child pornography after being convicted of an offense relating to the sexual abuse of a minor. His prior conviction stemmed from a 2014 case in Belmont County Common Pleas Court in which he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and pandering obscenity involving a minor.

Court documents also say that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received tips from Kik messenger regarding Green’s online child exploitation activities.

Parker was joined by J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Angie Salazar, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Field Office; and Belmont County Sheriff David M. Lucas in announcing the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and S. Courter Shimeall are representing the United States in this case.

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