Brown County, Ohio man sentenced to 17 years in prison for distributing images of child sexual abuse

 CINCINNATI – Wayne Cusimano, 55, of Hamersville, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 204 months in prison for distributing child pornography through Kik messenger chat groups.

According to court documents, from January through September 2018, Cusimano belonged to online chat groups dedicated to the trading of child pornography. Cusimano posted images and videos to the groups depicting adults sexually abusing minor children.

In one chat group, Cusimano served as the group’s administrator. He promoted others in the group, banned users, and vetted individuals who sought to join the group.

Cusimano pleaded guilty in January 2021 to two counts of distributing child pornography.

Vipal J. Patel, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Vance Callendar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced the sentence handed down July 15 by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle J. Healey and Matthew Singer are representing the United States in this case.