Ohio Man Sexually Assaulted and Filmed Toddlers at In-Home Daycare

Conner Walker, a 21-year-old from Rocky River, Ohio, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexually assaulting a toddler at an in-home daycare and distributing footage of horrific abuse.

Walker, who had access to the daycare through his friendship with the owner's son, admitted to the crimes in August and pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including sexual exploitation of children, attempted exploitation of children, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

US District Court Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan called Walker's actions "horrifying" when handing down the sentence Wednesday and ordered him to pay $75,000 in restitution.

Federal investigators uncovered Walker's crimes in January 2024 after a "reliable foreign partner" alerted them of disturbing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), authorities said. The images depicted a toddler whose appearance closely matched that of a Cleveland-based child seen in family photos on Facebook, as reported by WKYC.

The FBI contacted the child's mother, who identified her then-2-year-old daughter as the victim. She also noted that the hand in the images had a lighter complexion and provided investigators with names of white men who had access to kids at the daycare.

FBI agents visited the Parma Heights daycare, operated by Tonya Ball. Ball told investigators two adult men were at the home at the time. One of them was Walker, a friend of her son who frequently slept over.

During the investigation, Walker admitted that one evening in fall 2023, the toddler wandered into the bathroom as he got out of the shower. He then instructed her to open her mouth before assaulting her and recorded the attack for approximately two minutes, according to court records per WKYC. Walker shared the grotesque footage in a group chat via an encrypted messaging app called "Session." Walker was involved in many "Session" chats that distributed CSAM, investigators discovered.

The Australia-based app is marketed as a privacy-first messaging platform that allows users to communicate anonymously, according to police.

Walker's cellphone reportedly contained two videos of the victim in addition to 4 photos; it also had "numerous additional files" of CSAM. Walker allegedly took explicit photos of another girl at the same daycare, according to cleveland.com.