Galloway Man Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography after Recording 12-Year-Old Girl in Bathroom

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Justin M. Nickell, 36, of Galloway, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 160 months in prison for distribution of child pornography.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Westerville Police Chief Joseph Morbitzer, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and other members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the sentence handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

According to the Statement of Facts in this case, Nickell communicated with an undercover task force officer posing online as the mother of young children.

During conversation on the Kik Messenger App, Nickell routinely made comments indicating that he wished to engage in sexual activity with the undercover persona’s fictitious children. He also told the officer he secretly recorded a 12-year-old girl in his household getting out of the shower and drying off, and would then masturbate to the video afterwards. Nickell sent a screen shot from one of the videos to the officer. Nickell admitted to hiding his phone in a container in the bathroom under some clothing and also to recording her outside of the bathroom by placing his phone under the door.

On more than one occasion, Nickell sent nude photos of the 12-year-old girl to the undercover officer.

“The nature and circumstances of Nickell’s actions involve an unimaginable violation of trust,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “His offenses, paired with the fact that he stated – in excruciating detail and on multiple occasions – that he wanted to engage in very specific sexual acts with the undercover officer’s young fictitious children, call for significant time in federal prison.”

Nickell was indicted by a federal grand jury in March and pleaded guilty in August.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the Franklin County ICAC and Assistant United States Attorneys Heather A. Hill and Jessica H. Kim, who are representing the United States in this case.

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