Federal grand jury indicts local attorney on child pornography charges

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A resident of Grandview Heights was arrested today on federal charges including transporting, receiving, and possessing child pornography.

Stephen Chinn, 39, of Columbus, turned himself in at U.S. District Court this morning to be arrested by federal agents. Chinn then made his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon, and his charges were unsealed at that time.

According to the three-count federal indictment returned yesterday, Chinn uploaded child pornography to the internet that depicted prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct including sex acts with adults and animals.

Chinn allegedly downloaded and saved other child sexual abuse material between Aug. 11 and Aug. 13. The material further depicted prepubescent children engaged in bestiality and sexual intercourse with adults, as well as minor victims subjected to sadistic and masochistic abuse.

On Aug. 16, a search warrant was executed at Chinn’s residence. It is alleged that Chinn possessed a desktop computer containing more than 4,000 child sexual abuse images. At the time, Chinn was employed as a public defender in Franklin County.

Chinn was initially arrested on Aug. 16 and charged locally with Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter Involving a Minor and Pandering Obscenity. Chinn was released on bond in that matter. The federal indictment will supersede any charges on his local case.

Chinn is scheduled to appear again in U.S. District Court at 1:30pm on Sept. 25 for a detention hearing.

Transporting and receiving child pornography are federal crimes punishable by a mandatory minimum of five years in prison. Both charges also carry a statutory maximum punishment of 20 years in prison, which is the same statutory maximum for possessing child pornography of a prepubescent minor.

The case is being investigated by the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Angie Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Grandview Heights Police Chief Ryan Starns; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin; and Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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