McConnelsville man receives 30 years in prison for sex crimes

Special to the Zanesville Times Recorder
·2 min read
4

McCONELLSVILLE − A McConnelsville man was recently sentenced on sex crime charges in Morgan County Common Pleas Court.

Rusty Lee Campbell, 33, had entered guilty pleas to one count each of rape and human trafficking, both first-degree felonies, and 10 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, second-degree felonies.

The prosecution and victim's representative argued for an aggregate term of 106 years in prison for all charges. The defense recommended 15 years. Judge John A. Wells sentenced Campbell to a minimum of 30 years in a state correctional facility. He was granted 568 days of credit for local incarceration.

The Morgan County Sheriff's Office and the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force received information in August 2021 that Campbell was trafficking a juvenile victim in exchange for money, methamphetamine and other favors. During the investigation, officers learned Campbell was also having sex with additional juvenile victims, creating child pornography and participating in an online group sharing explicit videos of child sexual abuse. Campbell was eventually arrested and charged with numerous crimes. The Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is led by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and includes the Marietta City Police Department, Marietta College Police Department, Washington County Prosecutor’s Office, Noble County Sheriff’s Office, Noble County Prosecutor’s Office, Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Morgan County Prosecutor’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, Athens County Sheriff’s Office, Athens Police Department, Athens County Prosecutor’s Office, Meigs County Sheriff’s Office and the Meigs County Prosecutor’s Office.

Anyone with additional information or knowledge of additional victims of human trafficking is encouraged to contact the task force directly through the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 740-376-7070 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-3737-888.

Submitted by Morgan County Sheriff's Office.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: McConnelsville man receives 30 years in prison for sex crimes