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Child porn case alleged on Lou Ida Boulevard
AUSTINTOWN
At least one local juvenile was victimized in a child pornography case in Austintown, said an Ohio Attorney General’s office spokeswoman.
The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department, Austintown Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted a raid on Lou Ida Boulevard on a search warrant Wednesday for child exportation and child pornography charges.
Major Jeff Allen of the sheriff’s office said officers are going through what they’ve collected. “Right now we are sifting through evidence and interviewing the suspect,” he said.
The evidence includes videotapes and other media devices that have to be analyzed, said the attorney general’s office spokeswoman.
The man under arrest is identified by authorities as Charles Krusac, 77, of 5447 Lou Ida Blvd. He’s lived at the red brick and white siding ranch-style home with a mailbox that reads “Charlie” for 37 years. The home’s backyard is lined with a fence between the property and the new Sheetz property on state Route 46.
He was arrested on 12 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance and three counts of pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor.
The attorney general’s spokeswoman said that office received a tip a few weeks ago. The tip involved “allegations of a person living at the Lou Ida home was involved in the creation and manufacture of child pornography,” she said.
“We have reason to believe that the child pornography that this suspect allegedly created involved at least one area juvenile, and we are concerned that there may be other victims,” said Attorney General Mike DeWine in a statement.
In addition to the sheriff’s department, BCI and Austintown police, agents from the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Ohio Organized Crime Investigation Commission are taking part in the ongoing investigation.