Port Clinton man pleads guilty to child porn charges

PORT CLINTON — A Port Clinton man pleaded guilty Monday to downloading and possessing child pornography. Christian O. Silva, 25, 500 block Fremont Road, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person, each a second-degree felony. Silva pleaded guilty to the 10 charges in exchange for 60 additional counts to be dismissed, according to court records. As part of Silva's plea, he could potentially face a maximum sentence of up to 80 to 84 years in prison and would be classified as a Tier 2 sex offender, which means that he must verify home and work addresses every six months for 25 years, according to court records. Silva is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29. Background The investigation into Silva first began on Jan. 16, when an agent from the Ottawa County prosecutor's office's major crimes unit received a cyber tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The task force reported that a video that contained child sexual abuse material was uploaded through Instagram's direct message from a cellphone. The phone's records were subpoenaed through Verizon, according to a report from the Ottawa County prosecutor's office. The subpoena linked back to a phone at Silva's address, the report states. An agent found additional information within the cyber tip, which contained a false alias, by the name of "Muhammad Ahmed," along with several files that depicted pre-pubescent girls as well as adults in various stages of sexual intercourse, the report states. Law enforcement said that Silva later allegedly admitted to using this alias to help fulfill his sexual fetish, according to the report. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the Fremont Road home. Shortly after law enforcement arrived, Silva allegedly admitted to being the source of the child pornography, the report states. When interviewed by police, Silva was asked where he kept the pornographic images and said that it was in his phone gallery. Silva voluntarily allowed police to access his phone, the report states. When the agent asked Silva if he had ever produced child pornography, he said 'no,' but that he has only traded photos already on the internet through platforms such as TeleGuard, Session, Telegram, Instagram and Snapchat, according to the report. Due to the evidence found and Silva's alleged admission to law enforcement, he was transported and booked into the Ottawa County jail on one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor, a second-degree felony. A month later, on Feb. 5, Silva was indicted by an Ottawa County grand jury for 70 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person, each a second-degree felony. The crimes occurred between December 2023 through January 2025, according to his indictment.