Norwalk Man Sentenced For Distributing Child Pornography

Monday, June 23, 2025, 8:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

TOLEDO, OH.- A 55-year-old Norwalk, Ohio, child predator will be spending over the next decade in federal prison after being sentenced earlier this month for distributing and receiving thousands of digital images and video files depicting sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of prepubescent and pubescent children, including many depicting horrific sexual violence of young children.

     According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Spryszak, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, Brent Bennett, 55, of Norwalk, Ohio, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge James G. Carr to 144 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release after pleading guilty in January, to Receipt and Distribution of Child Ponography.

In Addition To Prison, Bennett Was Ordered To Pay $126,500 In Restitution

     In handing down the sentence, Judge Carr ordered Bennett to pay $126,500 in restitution to his identified victims and a special assessment fee of $35,000. Additionally, Judge Carr ordered Bennett, upon completion of his term of imprisonment, to register as a sex offender in the national sex offender registry.

According To Court Documents

     According to charging documents filed with the District Court, beginning on January 19, 2023, and lasting through March 13, 2023, Bennett utilized peer-to-peer file-sharing programs to view, download, and distribute sexually explicit digital images and video files of child pornography, including many of prepubescent girls as well as sadistic depictions.

     In April 2023, federal Investigators obtained and executed a federal court-authorized search warrant at Bennett’s Norwalk, Ohio, home. During the search, Investigators seized two cellular phones, two laptop computers, and several digital storage devices. 

     A subsequent forensic examination of Bennett’s electronic devices revealed that they contained more than 10,000 digital images and nearly 1.800 video files of child pornography. Of those, 6,845 digital images and 1,282 video files were found to be sexually graphic in nature. The images and videos were submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for further review. Following an extensive review, members of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were able to identify a total of 22 victims, and each of them provided a victim impact statement to the Federal Court.

     During the course of the investigation, Federal Investigators identified Bennett’s IP address as one of the top ten in the State of Ohio for child pornography downloads at that time.