COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal grand jury convicted the final defendant in connection to a Scioto County child sex trafficking operation.
Joshua Aldridge, 38, was found guilty of conspiring to sex traffic children and conspiring to sex traffic adults by force in a Columbus trial earlier this week.
In June 2020, a grand jury indicted 71-year-old Larry Dean Porter and several of his family members and associates, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Aldridge transported children to Porter's home and received drugs from Porter in return. Each of Aldridge’s crimes are punishable by up to life in prison.
Agents with the FBI's Child Exploration Task Force started investigating Porter in April 2019 after reports that the Wheelersburg man was involved in sexually abusing boys and girls with consent of their parents in exchange for illegal drugs from Porter.
Officials say Porter sexually abused children and produced child pornography that he kept on flash drives and buried the devices in the yard surrounding his home.
Porter also told drug-addicted parents to sexually abuse their children and record the acts to use as blackmail.
In one case, the attorney's office said two co-defendants took a 7-year-old child to Porter's home on a regular basis to traffic the child sexually in exchange for pills. This happened a few times a week for up to five years.
Porter was arrested in March 2020 on charges during a human trafficking sting operation by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.
After Porter's arrest, his friends and relatives, including two of his daughters and one of his cousins, attempted to destroy evidence for Porter.
The attorney's office said his daughters dug holes in Porter's yard to retrieve and attempt to conceal or destroy SD cards containing child pornography that was buried.
Agents found eight DVDs containing Porter's child pornography at the house of one of Porter's friends.
Porter’s cousin discussed in jail calls with Porter their plans to assault and potentially kill a witness they believed was a source for law enforcement, the attorney's office said.
Porter pleaded guilty on Aug. 10 to conspiring to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, child sex trafficking, and participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Porter faces a sentencing range of 15 to 55 years in prison.
Sentencing for all the defendants will be set by the court on a later date.
