Piqua man pleads guilty to child porn charges

ajc.com

A Piqua man indicted on 21 felony charges alleging possession of child pornography pleaded guilty Monday, May 1, to 10 counts in Miami County Common Pleas Court.

Joshua Schwarz, 29, was arrested in February on 10 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and 10 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material or performance. The charges accused him of possessing materials depicting children as young as infants in sexually related poses/activities in August 2016. He also faced one felony count of tampering with evidence for allegedly attempting to erase or destroy evidence.

A report by Piqua police stated that during the investigation they found a trash bag with CDs and VHS tapes, some damaged or destroyed, left near Schwarz's home for trash collection.

During Monday’s hearing, Schwarz pleaded to five counts each of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material or performance and five counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

A pre-sentence investigation was ordered by Judge Christopher Gee. Sentencing for Schwarz and a sex offender classification hearing are scheduled for June 19.

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