COLUMBUS, OH (WOWK)—The lead defendant in a Scioto County child sex trafficking operation was sentenced in federal court on Tuesday.

According to the US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio’s office, Larry Dean Potter was sentenced to 40 years in prison for giving drug-addicted mothers drugs in exchange for sexual access to their children. 

Porter was indicted in June of 2020. Several of Porter’s family members and associates were also indicted. Porter and nine of his co-defendants pleaded guilty to their federal charges.

“Larry Dean Porter is a predator who manipulated and abused children and drug-addicted women in southern Ohio for many years. He used force, violence, and threats to coerce these vulnerable victims to engage in sex acts with him,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Though no sentence can undo the indescribable, despicable harm he caused, it is fitting that he will spend the rest of his life where he belongs – in a federal prison.”

Court records say that Porter sexually abused multiple children and produced child pornography that he kept on flash drives.

He was arrested in March of 2020 during a human trafficking sting operation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.