Morgan County man sentenced for child porn, human trafficking, sex charges

A Morgan County man was sentenced to prison last month after being found guilty of trafficking a juvenile, creating child porn, having sex with juveniles and sharing explicit videos of child sexual abuse, according to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office.

Rusty Campbell, 33 was arrested in August 2021 as a result of a joint investigation between the sheriff's office and the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force. He was one of nine men arrested in southeast Ohio during the human trafficking bust.

Agents received information prior to the arrest that Campbell was trafficking a juvenile in exchange for money, meth and other favors. During the course of the investigation, task force agents also learned that Campbell was having sex with additional juveniles, creating child pornography and participating in an online group sharing explicit videos of child sexual abuse.

On Feb. 21, Campbell was sentenced in the Morgan County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to rape, felony human trafficking and felony pandering obscenities involving a minor, the sheriff's office says.

A prosecutor recommended a sentence of 106 years for all charges, while the defense suggested a 15-year sentence for his charges. The Morgan County judge decided a minimum of 30 years in a state correctional facility with time credit given for 568 days that have already been spent in the county regional jail.

“My Office, working in conjunction with Investigative Agents of the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and the Morgan County Prosecutors Office, have once again shown that Justice CAN and WILL prevail in Morgan County. We will NOT tolerate people who bring harm to our children,” Sheriff Douglas McGrath said.