A 19-year-old Springdale man is facing felony charges after police say he shared a child sex abuse video over Discord from a home where his aunt was babysitting three young children. Aiden Tran was arrested Wednesday and booked into custody, accused of distributing the material from what court records describe as his family's makeshift daycare.
According to court records cited by the Cincinnati Enquirer, Tran's family home operates as a daycare, and his aunt was watching three children inside the house at the time investigators say the video was shared. Springdale police say Tran sent the child sex abuse video to others on Discord, and that Tran told police he had another video on his phone. Police say Tran told them he is sexually attracted to children.
Tran was arrested by Springdale police on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. The provided booking source resolves to a Facebook login page. The available booking source does not expose the referenced booking record. The Enquirer separately reported that Springdale police charged Tran with two felony counts of distributing child sex abuse material, and that investigators believe the material does not appear to be AI-generated. Tran was scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Ohio Revised Code section 2907.322, pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor is a second-degree felony carrying a statutory prison term of two to eight years per count upon conviction, per guidelines outlined by Zukerman Law. The same source notes that federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 2252 penalizes online distribution or receipt of child sexual abuse material with a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison, meaning Tran's alleged use of an internet platform could expose him to federal prosecution in addition to the state charges. The house sits less than 500 feet from a school, but the relevance of that location to sentencing is unclear.
The Hamilton County Justice Center is the county's primary detention facility, with a capacity of 1,240 inmates and roughly 31,000 bookings processed annually, according to the Ohio Jail Roster.
Questions About the Home Daycare Setup
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services rules classify licensed in-home child care for one to six children as a Type B Family Child Care home, according to Hamilton County Job and Family Services. It remains unclear what regulatory status applied to the home where Tran's aunt was babysitting three children or whether any county child welfare review has been opened into the household.
Federal law also plays a role in how cases like this one come to light. References to 18 U.S.C. § 2258A and NCMEC's CyberTipline appear in discussions of child sexual abuse material reporting. The cited Global Platform for Child Exploitation Policy page includes a 2025 data section.
Not an Isolated Case in Ohio This Week
The available information does not establish whether a separate Franklin County case involved Qiyang Jiang or whether the two cases occurred within 24 hours of each other or involved the same type of messaging-app conduct.
Several questions remain open as the case moves through Hamilton County court, including what bond conditions or formal indictments follow Tran's initial appearance and whether the daycare arrangement at the home will face separate regulatory scrutiny.
