Ohio Task Force Busts Youth Pastor for Child Pornography
Police officers in Worthington, Ohio, have arrested a youth bible study teacher for offenses related to child pornography. The authorities apprehended 49-year-old Andrew Brown on April 30 after a lengthy investigation into his activities.
The investigation turned up alarming details about Brown’s alleged use of illicit material, including the abuse of children.
Investigators wrote in an affidavit that in October 2023, an officer was snooping on peer-to-peer filesharing networks and found an IP address was spreading or downloading child pornography. The download was completed with torrenting software, which allows users to share files directly with other peer-to-peer users. Between approximately Oct. 26 and Nov. 1, 2023, the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force initiated an investigation into the same IP address. During that time, the group downloaded files from a torrent offered by the IP, finding that it was hosting over 1,000 images of child sexual abuse.
The user’s IP address was traced back to a computer in an apartment just south of Worthington. Investigators observed that the same computer continued to download child pornography through April 7, 2024.
When officers served a search warrant at Brown’s home, they discovered that he was actively downloading the content. According to the authorities, he admitted to using certain types of software to download the material. He portrayed himself as a “collector” with content being found on 21 devices that were seized by law enforcement.
The suspect is an illegal immigrant from Jamaica residing in the United States under an expired visa.
Brown’s alleged crimes came to light when the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was informed about his IP address, which was downloading over 1,000 images of child pornography between October 2023 and November of the same year.
Investigators learned that the files were downloaded onto an undercover computer law enforcement agencies use to identify people who traffic pornographic material involving children. The files were being shared with other people in a file-sharing network.
After issuing subpoenas to the internet provider, the task force learned that the IP address was connected to an address at Worthington Terrace Apartments where Brown lived with a family member.
Brown worked as a youth minister and bible study teacher at the Worthington Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which was informed about the incident on May 1. School leadership said they had no suspicions that he had harmed any children under their care. In a statement, the church affirmed that it is “committed to maintaining a safe environment for all students and staff” and that it “communicated with parents and other stakeholders on the issue” immediately after being notified.
The Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, launched in 1999, is “an alliance of city, county, state, and federal law enforcement authorities dedicated to the apprehension and prosecution of internet child predators and child pornographers and to the education of parents and children about internet safety.”
In response to increasing internet dangers, former Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason applied for specialized grant funding from the United States Department of Justice in 1999 to launch the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Ohio ICAC Task Force is an alliance of city, county, state, and federal law enforcement authorities dedicated to the apprehension and prosecution of internet child predators and child pornographers and to the education of parents and children about internet safety.
The task force includes over 350 law enforcement partners and has been instrumental in finding and apprehending child predators.