Former Ohio public defender pleads guilty to possessing, receiving child pornography

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A former Franklin County public defender has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges Tuesday in federal court.

Stephen Chinn, of Columbus, pleaded guilty to possessing and receiving child pornography in his home. The plea agreement includes a recommended sentence of six to nine years in prison, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

Chinn, 40, faced federal charges related to possessing content depicting child sexual abuse after he turned himself in to the U.S. District Court on Sept. 20, 2023. He was indicted on three charges of transporting, receiving, and possessing child pornography, which Grandview Heights police said they discovered in his home in August 2023.

Officers took Chinn into custody on Aug. 16 of that year and found evidence of the explicit material on several electronic devices. He was originally charged with two counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, and was released on bond.

Chinn was then charged federally in September 2023, and the federal indictment superseded the charges in his local case.

The indictment document stated that Chinn allegedly downloaded and saved child sexual abuse material from Aug. 11 to Aug. 13. Police said a mobile forensics team found more than 4,000 images and videos of bestiality involving pre-pubescent children and children having sexual intercourse with adults, as well as minor victims subjected to sadistic and masochistic abuse.

Forensic data revealed that much of this content was downloaded from a Russian social media site known to be used for the download and exchange of child sexual abuse material. Police did not believe that Chinn had any direct contact with the victims depicted in the evidence recovered.

Franklin County Public Defender Director Yeura Venters confirmed that Chinn resigned in late September. The group accepted his resignation the next day, and it became effective immediately.

A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.