Repeat sex offender from Licking County pleads guilty to new child pornography crimes

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A repeat sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court here today to receiving and possessing child pornography.

Christopher McInturf, 56, of Newark, Ohio, faces 15 to 40 years in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material and 10 to 20 years in prison for possessing it.

According to court documents, in February 2025, the Homeland Security Investigations Cyber Crime Center referred an investigative lead regarding McInturf using CashApp to pay for child pornography. Further investigation revealed that McInturf met an individual online who he believed to be in Paraguay. McInturf would pay the person typically $80 or $86 for bundles of child pornography.

In January 2025, McInturf messaged the individual asking for "something new? Rape is good. 10 to 15 yr…"

Investigators discovered child sexual abuse material of prepubescent female victims on McInturf's digital devices. For example, one video was a 70-minute compilation of 55 children being sexually assaulted who were approximately two to 10 years old.

On a thumb drive, McInturf had an explicit photo of a minor previously identified as the victim in a case against the defendant in Licking County. McInturf was convicted in 2011 in Licking County of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in his local case.

McInturf was charged federally in February 2025. He will be sentenced at a future court hearing.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and HSI Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Tyler J. Aagard is representing the United States in this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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