Saturday, November 20th, 2021
Armstrong pleads guilty to child porn charge
By William Kincaid
TOLEDO - A 51-year-old former Parkway school board member and Rockford mayor faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography as part of a negotiated plea agreement.
Jeffrey Armstrong, 4789 State Route 707, on Friday afternoon in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Ohio entered a plea of guilty to count one of an indictment - receipt and distribution of child pornography, according to information provided by Daniel Ball, public affairs officer with United States Attorney's Office, NDOH.
The count carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, Ball said Friday. Sentencing is set for 1 p.m. March 7, 2022, in court room 204 before Judge James R. Knepp II, according to court information.
A plea agreement was executed on Friday. The court will take the agreement under advisement until the time of sentencing, according to court information.
A federal grand jury earlier this year had indicted Armstrong on one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, according to documents filed at the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Ohio.
The indictment reads that from Feb. 10 to Feb. 22, Armstrong knowingly received and distributed visual depictions involving the use of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including prepubescent minors, documents state.
Armstrong initially was charged with coercion and enticement and receipt and distribution of child pornography.
A search warrant was executed on Feb. 22 at Armstrong's Rockford residence. He was taken into federal custody without incident at about 7 a.m. that day at his place of employment in Lima, according to an FBI news release.
Armstrong on Feb. 10 allegedly engaged in a conversation through an online message application with an individual he believed to be interested in sexual relations with minor females. The individual was actually an FBI online undercover employee.
Armstrong expressed that he shared the same interest, the release states. Over the next 10 days additional conversations reportedly took place between the FBI employee and Armstrong. Those conversations reportedly included the exchange of sexually explicit photos depicting underage females.
"The complaint alleges that Armstrong knows two underage females that he was hoping to engage in sexual activity with, a 5-year and a 6-year-old," the release states. Armstrong informed the undercover employee that he has engaged in previous sexual activity with minor females.
