Indian foreign national arrested on child pornography charges

CINCINNATI - A foreign national currently in the United States on an H-1B work visa was arrested by federal agents on charges alleging he accessed and downloaded child pornography.

Vimalesh Prem Kumar, 39, of Blue Ash, appeared in federal court on Oct. 21.

According to charging documents, cyber tips led agents to Kumar's online accounts. Kumar allegedly viewed child pornography via Instagram, Twitter and Telegram and downloaded and shared the child sexual abuse material on Telegram.

The uploaded child sexual abuse material allegedly included explicit images of a young girl next to a teddy bear and a young girl wearing sheer lingerie.

"HSI special agents continue to leverage every tool at our disposal and our national footprint to identify and investigate predators who share horrendous and obscene images of children being abused," said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Pierczynski. "Working in the U.S. as a foreign national is a privilege and violators that target the most vulnerable members of our community will be held fully accountable under the law."

Kumar is charged with possessing or accessing with the intent to view child pornography, a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jeremy Pierczynski, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and officials with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood 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.

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