Man convicted in child porn case

Victims as young as 2 found on Franklin man’s cellphone.

A Franklin man has been found guilty in federal court of charges stemming from a child pornography production case.

Jason Fletcher, 41, of Franklin, was found guilty of conspiracy to produce and production of child pornography after a bench trial by U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.

Fletcher was indicted by a federal grand jury in December after investigators could not determine which county videos found on Fletcher’s cellphone were recorded in, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.

In May 2017, a probation officer noticed Fletcher had two cellphones and started to review their contents. The probation officer found pornography of a minor female on one of the phones and Fletcher was subsequently arrested.

Among the collection of child pornography, child pornography videos made with the phone were also discovered. Some of the videos on the phone involved Fletcher, a two-year-old child and another woman, Ciera Richter.

Evidence presented at Fletcher’s bench trial indicated the crimes were committed when Richter was babysitting the toddler. Fletcher used his cell phone to record videos of himself molesting the toddler, while Richter held and moved the child. Fletcher brought “medicine” with him, which Richter gave to the child.

Fletcher was a registered sex offender at the time he made the videos. According to court documents, Fletcher was previously convicted by the state of Ohio of importuning a minor, among other crimes. Under the terms of his probation, he was not to possess pornography of any kind.

In March 2013, Fletcher was indicted and later convicted of importuning, a fifth-degree felony, for sending a text to a 13-year-old girl asking her for oral sex.

He was sent to prison for 10 months and placed on five years probation.

In April 2017, he was sent back to prison for a probation violation and is currently in the Madison Correctional Institution.

In September, Fletcher was indicted by a Warren County grand jury on 12 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and five counts of illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, according to Warren County Common Pleas Court records.

In that case, he was convicted of two counts of pandering November and sent to prison for 10 years.

Conspiracy to produce child pornography and production of child pornography are crimes that generally carry a potential sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison. Fletcher faces a potential range of 35 years to life in prison, because he has at least two prior state convictions for sex crimes involving children.

Sentencing dates has not yet been set for either Richter or Fletcher

Richter, 25, of Cincinnati, was also indicted by a federal grand jury. She previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography.