Cincinnati man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually exploiting toddler

CINCINNATI – Thomas Winkelbach, 79, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 240 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for taking sexually explicit photos of a toddler victim.

Winkelbach pleaded guilty in federal court in July 2020 to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

According to court documents, Winkelbach used a digital camera to take sexually explicit pictures of a young child touching Winkelbach’s penis and other pictures of Winkelbach masturbating in front of the victim. The crime occurred in 2014 or 2015, but the exact date is unknown. The victim was between 1 and 2 years old.

Investigators say in court documents that Winkelbach has been searching for, downloading and trading child pornography on the internet for years. Between all of his digital media seized by investigators in October 2019, Winkelbach possessed thousands of images of child pornography.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and Cincinnati Police Department’s Regional Electronics Computer Investigations (RECI) Task Force investigated this case.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey; and Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

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