Ohio man charged with sexually exploiting multiple girls online

An Ohio man has been charged with sexually exploiting at least five girls he met online, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday. 

Mark A. Chandler, 37, of Mount Orab, Ohio, was charged with sexual exploitation of children, coercion and enticement, and receipt of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Ohio announced. 

Authorities said the investigation into Chandler began when the Highland County Sheriff's Office in Ohio got a tip about him in November of 2025. The sheriff's office said a victim's father said he learned his daughter had been talking to Chandler for over a year, starting when she was 14 years old. 

The resulting investigation revealed that Chandler paid at least five girls he met online in California, Texas and Michigan to engage in sexually explicit acts on video, prosecutors said. 

Investigators said Chandler used multiple social media apps to groom the victims, who were all about 14 years old, and then paid them with Visa gift cards in exchange for sexual videos and images. 

Authorities said he threatened to kill at least one of the victims if she "tattled on him," saying he'd drown her or use knives to cut her throat.

Chandler was originally arrested on local charges in Highland County. He appeared in federal court in Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon. 

The U.S. attorney's office said Chandler's case is part of Project Safe Childhood, which is a nationwide initiative that works to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online.