Area police tip off FBI in child sex case

VERMILION — A welfare check at a Jefferson Street short-term rental led Vermilion police to contact the FBI, beginning an interstate investigation that later involved Norwalk police and resulted in a federal conviction. A federal jury in Hartford, Connecticut, found Onai Kedar Wilbert Wright, 27, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, guilty Wednesday of five child exploitation counts: • Transporting a minor with the intent to engage in prostitution or criminal sexual activity • Producing child pornography • Two counts of receiving child pornography • Transporting child pornography How it started The case began March 6, 2025, when Vermilion police responded to a disturbance at a short-term rental on Jefferson Street, police Chief Scott Holmes said. The situation had calmed by the time officers arrived, and a woman involved in the disturbance had left. She contacted police again at about 12:20 p.m. and requested a welfare check. The caller reported that an adult man had taken two females' cellphones and money, was holding them against their will and was filming sexually explicit content for the internet. She also told police one of the females was a juvenile. Holmes and two other officers returned to the residence and contacted a 19-year-old woman from North Carolina and a 15-year-old girl from Connecticut. The two were not being physically held against their will and still had their cellphones, Holmes said. Officers, however, had not located the adult man who was staying with them. During a protective sweep of the residence, officers discovered Wright hiding underneath a bed. Wright initially provided a false name and date of birth before giving police his correct information, Holmes said. Police determined Wright did not have any outstanding warrants. Holmes said officers also lacked evidence establishing probable cause that sexually explicit material involving the girl had been created at the residence. Holmes attempted to contact the girl's mother and sought assistance from police in Connecticut. Her mother eventually told Holmes she knew Wright and had given her daughter permission to stay with him. Holmes said police did not have legal grounds at that time to arrest Wright or remove the girl against her mother's wishes. Before leaving, Holmes warned Wright that the girl was 15 and instructed him to take her home. Holmes also told Wright that the FBI would become involved if police learned he had produced sexually explicit material involving the girl. Holmes said it was difficult to leave the residence knowing what officers suspected could be happening. Federal investigation begins Vermilion police immediately contacted the FBI's Cleveland office and Detective Sgt. Dale Reising. Reising works full time for Vermilion police and also serves as a task force officer with the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, working on human trafficking and internet crimes against children investigations. Holmes said Reising began making calls and helping coordinate the investigation as soon as officers left the residence. Wright and the others checked out of the Vermilion rental the following morning and briefly moved to a short-term rental in Norwalk, Holmes said. That move brought Norwalk police into the investigation. Holmes said Norwalk officers assisted while working in conjunction with the FBI. Federal investigators later determined Wright and the girl had returned to Connecticut. On March 14, 2025, an undercover FBI employee monitoring a livestream on the Fambase application observed Wright engaging in sexually explicit activity with the girl, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. Investigators used mobile communications, geolocation information and Airbnb records to trace Wright to a residence in Norwich, Connecticut, where he was taken into custody. The girl and two adult women were also found there. Evidence presented during the trial showed Wright met the girl when she was 14. Wright later created an OnlyFans account, uploaded sexually explicit videos involving the girl and pressured her to create additional content, according to federal prosecutors. The jury found Wright guilty of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in prostitution or criminal sexual activity, producing child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography and transporting child pornography. Holmes and another Vermilion detective traveled to Hartford to testify during the federal trial. Holmes was the prosecution's first witness because the investigation began with the Vermilion welfare check. Holmes said the case demonstrated how a call that initially appears routine can develop into a major investigation. "You never know what you're going to encounter," Holmes said. Holmes also credited federal investigators for quickly treating the allegations as a priority and gathering the evidence needed to prosecute Wright. "I can't commend them more," Holmes said. "They took the ball and ran with it." Wright has remained in custody since his March 14, 2025, arrest. His sentencing has not been scheduled. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.