A former deputy with the Henry County Sheriff’s office has been sentenced to prison on pornography charges. 39 year old Nicholas Pieracini of rural Liberty Center had early pled guilty to 8 counts of Pandering Sexually Oriented Matter involving a Minor. Acting Judge Bates of Lucas County sentenced Pieracini to a prison term of 4 to 6 years on the more serious charges, which included sharing the images of minors in a chat-room. And another 15-month prison term was added for the charges that were based on having pornographic images of children on his phone.
Special Prosecutor Melissa Schiffel of Delaware County reported the investigation was initiated when an app that scans pornographic activity kicked-out Pieracini’s phone. The Fulton County Sheriff’s office was called-in to investigate, and they seized the phone from the defendant, where the child pornography images were found. Prosecutor Schiffel stated there was no evidence any of the victims were local children. Nicholas Pieracini expressed remorse and accepted responsibility for the crimes during the sentencing hearing. He will have 30 days to file an appeal. Pieracini served in law enforcement in northwest Ohio for over 15 years.