Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 32+ Years in Prison

AKRON, Ohio - A Stark County man, and previously convicted sex offender, has been sentenced to federal prison for child sexual abuse offenses.

Daniel Dobies, 57, of Canton, Ohio, was sentenced to 390 months (32.5 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko, after pleading guilty in February to the following charges in the indictment:

• Receipt and Distribution of Visual Depictions of Real Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct
• Possession of Child Pornography, or Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM)

He was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $3,000 in restitution to one of the victims identified in the CSAM that Dobies possessed and distributed.

According to court documents, agents were conducting investigations into suspected CSAM activity on social media platforms and identified Dobies in 2025. During a search warrant execution at his residence, which he shared with co-defendant Shane Stouffer, 46, investigators found electronic devices belonging to Dobies that contained approximately 150 videos and 309 images of CSAM. The files included depictions of children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Investigators also learned that Dobies had previous convictions for Gross Sexual Imposition in 1991, and Attempted Rape in 1993, both involving minor victims, out of Lake County, Ohio.

Stouffer is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of receipt and possession of CSAM.

The investigation was led by the FBI Canton Resident Agency and the Canton Police Department with assistance from the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Stark County Sex Offender Registry.

Assistant United States Attorney Peter E. Daly for the Northern District 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.

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