Ohio Man Sentenced to 25 Years for the Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material

ASHLAND, Ky. - A Gallipolis, Ohio, man, Henry Ritscher, 44, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning for the production of child pornography.

According to his plea agreement, on September 6, 2025, Ritscher produced child pornography of a minor child in Johnson County. Specifically, the victim discovered a video depicting her showering and changing clothes, which appeared to be taken from a covert position in Ritscher's bathroom. Law enforcement executed a search warrant on the same day and uncovered multiple electronic devices, including a covert camera hidden in a cell phone charging block that was used to produce the bathroom video. Ritscher provided a statement to law enforcement in which he admitted to covertly recording the victim and using the videos to satisfy his sexual fantasies.

Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.projectsafechildhood.govLinks 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..

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