Tipp City man faces federal child porn charges

A Tipp City man is one of 10 people being prosecuted by federal prosecutors on charges related to a national network of child pornography involving young boys.

John C. Foster, 44, of Tipp City, has been indicted on charges of distribution of child pornography and receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. A federal complaint claims investigators found thousands of images of child porn on Foster’s computer dated from June 14, 2012 to May 25, 2013.

Foster was arrested after an investigation and arrest of a New Orleans man, 27-year-old Jonathan Johnson, who allegedly was the architect of a digital child exploitation enterprise that preyed upon young boys, according to the Associated Press.

According to unsealed court records, Johnson allegedly encouraged viewers of the websites such as Foster to search for, locate and entice young boys into creating sexually explicit videos, by tapping into social networking sites and sometimes impersonating females online.

Documents allege Foster created at least eight user names and posted explicit screen shots from numerous pornographic videos. Investigators said they discovered more than 2,000 explicit images of young boys and have so far identified about 160 of them.

The sites let some members upload and share sexually explicit material, according to court documents. Johnson provided instructions so members and “uploaders” — those authorized to create and share content — could circumvent detection by law enforcement, prosecutors said. The videos were uploaded to the sites without the boys’ knowledge.

Foster’s trial in the Eastern District of Louisiana is scheduled for April 28 in front of Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt.

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