A 63-year-old Springboro man who spent years teaching accounting and running a student credit union at Stebbins High School is now facing a criminal charge after investigators say he spent months communicating online with someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl. That person was actually an undercover detective working with a regional task force built specifically to catch people like him.
John Stalcup was arrested at his Springboro home on August 6 and charged with disseminating matter harmful to a juvenile, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. The arrest capped a months-long investigation by the Miami Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, which said the case began after it received a tip about suspected child exploitation from an out-of-state law enforcement agency. Investigators executed a search warrant at Stalcup's residence the same day he was taken into custody.
Stalcup worked as a longtime accounting instructor at Stebbins High School in the Mad River Local Schools district in Riverside, where he also managed a student-run credit union program, according to Dayton Daily News. That role placed him in a position of trust within the school community, a detail that has drawn particular attention as the case moves forward. It remains unclear whether Mad River Local Schools has taken any administrative action regarding his employment.
How the Undercover Sting Unfolded
Task force investigators allege Stalcup communicated online with someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl, but the account belonged to an undercover detective assigned to the Miami Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. Task force commander Rob Streck said the internet has made it easier for offenders to reach children — and, in the same breath, easier for investigators to follow the digital trails those offenders leave behind. Streck said children deserve protection both in their communities and online.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2907.31, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles is generally classified as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying penalties of up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, though charges can be elevated to a felony depending on the material involved or prior offenses, per Patituce & Associates. Ohio law permits prosecution under the statute even when the material is sent to an undercover officer posing as a minor rather than an actual child.
A Task Force Built From Multiple Agencies
The Miami Valley Human Trafficking Task Force draws on several partner agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Oakwood Public Safety Department, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and the Butler Township Police Department, all operating under the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission. The task force says it combines resources, expertise, and community outreach, and that it also provides critical support to survivors of exploitation. The commission was established under the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which doubled the number of regional human trafficking task forces statewide in 2021, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Smaller municipal departments play a specialized role in that structure. Public records from October 2025 show an undercover detective from the Oakwood Public Safety Department, one of five core partner agencies in the task force, helped execute 23 of the 135 arrests made during the statewide Operation Next Door sting, according to City of Oakwood council records.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Local Enforcement
Stalcup's arrest follows a string of recent task force operations in the Dayton area. In June, the same task force arrested and indicted 69-year-old Ronald Skinner on 13 felony counts tied to human trafficking, kidnapping, and prostitution charges in Montgomery County, following an investigation launched in 2025, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said. In May, the task force also took part in Operation Spring Cleaning, a statewide operation led by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission across 15 counties that resulted in 122 arrests, including 38 felony charges and 84 solicitation arrests targeting both trafficking networks and online sex buyers.
Hoodline previously covered a Milford sting in which former Milford City Manager Michael Doss was charged with felony importuning in August 2024 after allegedly attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl who was actually an undercover detective. That case, reported at the time by The Clermont Sun, followed the same operational model the task force used against Stalcup — an undercover detective posing online as a 15-year-old to draw out suspects.
A Nationwide Surge in Online Enticement Reports
The Stalcup case arrives amid a sharp rise in reports of online child exploitation nationally. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 21.3 million total exploitation reports in 2025, and CyberTipline reports for online enticement surged 158% following federal implementation of the REPORT Act, which requires electronic service providers to flag suspicious communications, according to MissingKids.org. Mid-year 2025 data separately showed online enticement reports grew 77% compared to the first half of 2024, climbing from 292,951 to 518,720 cases nationwide, per Homeland Security Today.
Springboro sits primarily in Warren County, with northern sections extending into Montgomery County along the Interstate 75 corridor between Dayton and Cincinnati, roughly 15 miles south of downtown Dayton. That geography helps explain why a Montgomery County-based task force was able to execute a search warrant at a Springboro address. No further details on Stalcup's court schedule or bail conditions have been released, and Hoodline will monitor filings in Montgomery County and Warren County courts as the case proceeds.
