Former Boy Scout leader sentenced to 30 years in prison
A former Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center teacher and Richland County Boy Scout leader known as “Aqua Joe” was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children as well as receiving and distributing child pornography.
Thomas Close, 39, of Shelby served as a swim instructor and troop leader when he surreptitiously made videos of young boys while they changed for swimming and showered.
Close victimized children in his care at the YMCA, Willard Conservation League, Firelands Scout Reservation, Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center, Mohican Wilderness camp, STEM camp, and his home in Shelby.
“It is difficult to imagine a more heinous crime, particularly when the ages and youthful experiences of children were so calculatingly exploited,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in a statement. “If we have not made it clear before, let this sentence send a message to all who seek to prey on our children: there is no place we cannot find you and we will bring you to justice.”
In addition to the prison sentence given in federal court in Cleveland, Close will be subject to lifetime supervised release, which includes lifetime sex offender registration, authorities said. He also was ordered to pay $949 in restitution and a $300 special assessment.
Authorities said Close had more than 110,000 image and video files that depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. About 60,000 of those files were unique images. He also created 1,900 images of child pornography. To date, 143 victims have been identified, with the youngest being 7 years old.
One of the identified victims provided a recorded victim impact statement which was played during the sentencing hearing.
“Never have I been so sad,” the victim said. “This whole thing lingers in my mind all the time. I wish I could make it go away . ... I have a question for you, Aqua Joe: Why? Why would you do this to me? Why would you do this to any kid? How dare you do this to a kid that can’t defend himself. I don’t understand. I’m supposed to be able to trust the people that I’m told I can trust. You took advantage of me and you spied on me. Now I don’t trust anyone. You ruined part of my life! And I hate you . ... I especially hate you for hurting my mother. You broke her heart — and mine . ... I hope someday I can forget about you.”
Close, who taught engineering technologies at the Career Center, had been charged in November 2018 and later indicted by a federal grand jury for four felonies: two counts of sexual exploitation of children, a count of receipt and distributions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography.
He had pleaded guilty in federal court in September to sexual exploitation of children and receiving and distributing child pornography.
He was put on paid leave by the Career Center immediately after his arrest. The school board formally accepted his resignation on Nov. 20, 2018.
Authorities caught him after the Department of Homeland Security in Cleveland received a tip from the Cyber Crimes Center about a child exploitation case in Sandusky in May 2018. Investigators provided several videos of boys changing before and after swimming, with a series of lockers visible in some of the pictures.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children determined the videos were seen in previous child pornography investigations, but the children depicted in the images had not yet been identified. The agency was able to identify the manufacturer of the lockers as the Bradley Corp. Only a few YMCAs had purchased lockers from Bradley.
Authorities used landmarks and the Boy Scout logo in the images to narrow their search. Agents then discovered an incident report in which a Boy Scout den leader noted Close’s frequent and unnecessary contact with scouts during swim time, officials said.
Close later admitted to accessing child pornography; using a Russian photo sharing site to access child pornography; receiving and distributing images of child pornography online; being sexually interested in boys as young as 5 and up to 18; and possessing approximately 5 terabytes of child pornography, authorities said. He also said he would leave a watch with video capability in the designated changing areas to record the boys as they undressed.
“This individual used his position and regular access to children to exploit the young people who he was entrusted to take care of and protect,” Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for Michigan and Ohio Vance Callender said in a statement. “While no amount of prison time is sufficient for the depraved abuse of trust by Mr. Close on his innocent victims, hopefully, today’s sentencing can begin the healing process for all of those impacted.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Shelby Police Department.