A Belmont County man has received a considerable prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of sexually exploiting multiple children and possessing child pornography. Dennis Stopar, a 65-year-old resident of Flushing, Ohio, was sentenced to 60 years in U.S. District Court, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio. The judgment handed down comes in the wake of investigations revealing Stopar's long-standing abuse of minors, which included creating explicit material involving his victims.
Evidence presented during the proceedings detailed Stopar's predatory actions between 2022 and 2023, during which time he sexually assaulted at least nine minors – both boys and girls – many of whom were in the care of a family member of Stopar, Stopar, having previously been convicted for rape, was caught after law enforcement officials investigated a CyberTip linked to child pornography being uploaded to a Dropbox account located at an address in Belmont County, resulting in his devices being seized and analyzed under a federal search warrant and uncovering almost 160 images and 12 videos evidencing sexual assaults.
The case, spearheaded by Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris, FBI Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola, and Belmont County Sheriff James G. Zusack, was brought to a close in December 2024, as Stopar admitted guilt. The decision was made clear in a courtroom overseen by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Jennifer M. Rausch prosecuted the case.
