Two people are facing charges for sexually abusing five children under ten years old and using them to produce child pornography.
26 year old Amber Brewer of Hamersville and 47 year old Billy Sheeley of Winchester are both facing multiple felonies after being indicted by a Brown County Grand Jury on June 4.
Both are currently in the Brown County Jail. Brewer is being held without bond and Sheeley has a $500,000 cash only bond.
Brown County Prosecuting Attorney Zac Corbin said “it’s the worst cases I have ever seen.”
He added that the investigation was continuing to determine if any more Brown County children were victimized.
Brewer is facing 32 charges, including ten counts of Rape, which is a first degree felony. The other charges are second degree felonies and include four counts of Endangering Children, ten counts of Illegal Use of a Minor in Nudity-Oriented Material or Performance, five counts of Pandering Sexually-Oriented Material Involving a Minor and three counts of Felonious Assault with a Sexual Motivation specification.
Sheeley is facing 29 charges, including six counts of Rape, which is a first degree felony. The other charges are second degree felonies and include three counts of Endangering Children, eleven counts of Illegal Use of a Minor in Nudity-Oriented Material or Performance, five counts of Pandering Sexually-Oriented Material Involving a Minor and three counts of Felonious Assault with a Sexual Motivation specification.
Sheeley also faces a second degree misdemeanor charge for Sexual Conduct With an Animal.
“All of the counts of Rape are involving children under the age of ten,” said Corbin. “Each one of those counts could carry the maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
He went on to explain the other charges.
“The endangering children charges were filed because of the photographing or production of sexually oriented material,” Corbin said. He also explained that the pandering and illegal use of a minor charges were based on the allegation that Brewer and Sheeley filmed the children and then transferred those videos by electronic means.
“The felonious assault charges are based on the serious emotional and psychological harm inflicted on these children,” added Corbin.
He went on to explain how the case developed.
The case came to the attention of local authorities after a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
“These agencies will sometimes identify child pornography materials and link them to Brown County,” Corbin said.
“They flagged a couple of images and worked back through the IP addresses and linked them to a couple of accounts belonging to Brewer and Sheeley. That led them to some online communications where these materials were being sent back and forth.”
The case then moved into the local area.
“This tip originally came into the Mount Orab Police Department and was handled by Detective Ryan Gregory. He quickly learned that this was expanding out into the county and contacted (Brown County Sheriff’s Department) Detective Quinn Carlson. The two of them worked together until it led into Adams County, who then joined in the investigation,” Corbin said.
“A search warrant was issued on Brewer’s home and from there, the identity of Mr. Sheeley was determined. He was taken into custody the same day in Adams County.”
Both Sheeley and Brewer were arrested last month.
“All of these charges are focused in on the past couple of years from early January of 2019 up to the present,” Corbin said.
“This is one of those cases where the victims were living right here in the county. A lot of times we see these images where they are of children overseas or other places. These folks were making this material themselves and they were using local children.”
Corbin said that four of the five victims have been identified and that investigators are working to determine the identity of the fifth victim.
Corbin said that Sheeley may also face charges in Adams County.
“Sheeley was living in Adams County when he was arrested, and Adams County is conducting an investigation into Mr. Sheeley as well. He was around children and the parents of those children have been notified,” he said.
Corbin said that he appreciated the efforts of all the law enforcement agencies involved.
“It’s a great example of multiple agencies working together swiftly and getting these two individuals off the streets as quickly as possible.”
Both Sheeley and Brewer have pre-trial hearings scheduled for later this week.