Cincinnati man who allegedly advertised online for babysitting jobs arrested on federal child pornography charges

 CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati man alleged to be seeking babysitting jobs online was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged federally with possessing and transporting child pornography.

Ryan J. McConnell, 29, appeared in U.S. District Court for an initial appearance at 1:30pm today, at which time his case was unsealed.

According to court documents, FBI agents in El Paso, Texas, acting in an undercover capacity on Kik messenger discovered McConnell through a group called “Toddlers.” Members within this group distributed hundreds of videos and images of child rape.

It is alleged McConnell’s phone contained child pornography depicting pre-pubescent and pubescent boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct while wearing diapers.

Additionally, it is alleged McConnell actively sought work as a babysitter from approximately 2010 until present on a number of websites, including SitterCity.com, Care.com, Craigslist.org and possibly others. For example, criminal complaint documents allege McConnell was registered for three SitterCity accounts and had created at least 20 Craigslist ads offering childcare and/or babysitting services as recently as late October 2020.

The FBI believes that there are potentially more victims associated with this case. They ask anyone in the Tri-State area who may be a victim of McConnell’s alleged conduct to contact their office at 513-979-8611.

Transporting child pornography is a federal crime punishable by a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Possessing child pornography carries a potential maximum of 10 years in prison.

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Chris Hoffman, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.