21 indicted for trading child porn in Ohio - Toledo News Now, News, Weather, Sports, Toledo, OH

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty, along with twenty additional law enforcement partners of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, announced the results of "Operation Rise and Shine".

The seven month investigation into online child exploitation has resulted in the indictments of twenty adult defendants and one juvenile.

Operation Rise and Shine targeted traders of child pornography across the State of Ohio.  Using new technology, detectives identified IP addresses being used to trade and download child pornography pictures and videos.  From March 2012 through October 2012, law enforcement officers from twenty-one law enforcement agencies executed thirty-one search warrants on homes in nineteen communities throughout Cuyahoga County.

Officers seized 2,455 items such as computers, external hard drives, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, and other electronic storage devices.  This operation also resulted in seventy-six (76) additional cases being referred to fifty-seven (57) law enforcement agencies in Ohio and one law enforcement agency in Michigan.

Michael Kleinschmidt, 51, of Cleveland, was charged in a 103 count indictment that includes downloading, trading, and possessing child pornography.  Between May 2012 and August 2012, Kleinschmidt traded child pornography over the Internet from his residence.  ICAC investigators identified thirty known or suspected child pornographic images or videos available for sharing.

Kleinschmidt was previously indicted and pleaded guilty in December 1992, to one count of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance and four counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.  He was sentenced in January 1993 to one and a half years in prison.

Walter Jacobsen, 46, of North Olmsted, was charged in a twenty-four count indictment that includes downloading, trading, and possessing child pornography. He is an employee of the Positive Education Program (PEP) which is designed to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children.  On August 10, 2012, an investigator with the Ohio ICAC Task Force was conducting an investigation into the use of peer-to-peer file sharing programs.

While conducting the investigation, it was discovered that a computer with an IP address associated with Jacobsen's North Olmsted residence was sharing a file containing child pornography.  Jacobsen continues to deny purposefully downloading child pornography and is currently on administrative leave from PEP.

Robert Holpuch, 57, of Valley View, a volleyball official for the Ohio High School Athletic Association, was charged in a four count indictment that includes attempted rape, attempted kidnapping, attempted compelling prostitution, and possessing criminal tools. On October 29, 2012, undercover ICAC investigators posted an advertisement on the Internet.  Holpuch immediately responded to the ad by e-mail. After additional conversation via e-mail and text, Holpuch agreed to pay $100 to the undercover investigator to engage in sexual activity with a 12-year-old girl. After traveling to a local hotel, Holpuch was arrested and found to be in possession of $131.00 in cash, a bottle of alcohol and massage oils.

The following adult defendants were indicted in the operation:

David Chmielewski, 45, of Bay Village

Jason Duhamel, 28, of Cleveland

Peter Hale, Jr., 56, of Cleveland

Clayton Holler, Jr., 30, of Parma

Robert Holpuch, 57, of Valley View

Robert Humphrey, 64, of Shaker Heights

Walter Jacobsen, 46, of North Olmsted

Michael Kleinschmidt, 51, of Cleveland

Maher Lababidi, 33, of Lakewood

Bruce Mazur, 63, of Strongsville

Keith Marks, 56, of Cleveland

Erik Miller, 29, of Seven Hills

Robert Palmerio, 72, of Lyndhurst

Jared Recob, 24, of Cleveland

Gregory Ross, 49, of Parma

John Snider, 68, of Lakewood

Alpher Torres, 38, of Cleveland

Chad Wain, 29, of Berea

Ronald Waynerka, 55, of Parma

Patrick Ziska, 22, of Strongsville

The Northeast Ohio ICAC Task Force was created in 2000 to combat the rise of Internet crime against children.  In 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice provided additional funding for the Task Force to expand statewide.  The Task Force now has 321 law enforcement partners across Ohio. Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty is the chair of the statewide Task Force.

The following law enforcement agencies assisted in Operation Rise and Shine:

Bay Village Police Department

Berea Police Department

Brecksville Police Department

Brooklyn Heights Police Department

Cleveland Metroparks Rangers

Cleveland Police Department

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office

Cuyahoga County Sherriff's Office-Detective Bureau and Impact Unit

Euclid Police Department

Hardin County Sheriff's Office

Lakewood Police Department

Lyndhurst Police Department

North Olmsted Police Department

Parma Police Department

Seven Hills Police Department

Shaker Heights Police Department

South Euclid Police Department

Strongsville Police Department

United States Postal Inspectors

Valley View Police Department

Village of Timberlake Police Department

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