Trumbull County Man Sentenced to 23+ Years in Prison for Child Sexual Abuse Offenses

CLEVELAND - A Trumbull County man has been sentenced to federal prison for engaging in online activities that involved Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).

James Joseph Cataline, 47, of Hubbard, Ohio, has been sentenced to 282 months (23.5 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker, after pleading guilty in May to:

• Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct
• Possession of Child Pornography, or Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM)
• Transferring Obscene Material to a Minor

Cataline was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $5,000 toward the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which was established in 2015 to provide justice for victims of trafficking. A restitution hearing will be held Dec. 10.

According to court documents and evidence, from about December 2024 to November 2025, Cataline had a history of engaging with CSAM. Investigators also discovered that he was directly engaging with minors to solicit sexually oriented materials from them, including making video calls. Cataline shared explicit materials of himself with others who he believed were minors, but were in fact, undercover agents.

During a search warrant executed on his electronic devices, investigators found more than 120 images and videos on his laptop. Cataline's cellphones contained more than 2,400 CSAM files including approximately 600 videos and 1,800 images. Several files involved prepubescent minors under the age of 12.

The investigation leading to the indictment was led by the FBI Youngstown Resident Agency, the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, and the Mentor Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Margaret A. Kane for the Northern District of Ohio led the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country and marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/PSC.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.orgLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.