Law enforcement led 70 year old Robert Riccardi out of his Bazetta Township home Wednesday after Ohio BCI, Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force,  Mahoning County Sheriff's Office and other agencies served a search warrant.
What they found - evidence to charge him with four counts of pandering obscenity.
Authorities say it's an example of an unsettling trend.

"We've seen an increase in the last year just because of COVID," says Carl Sullivan, director of prosecution for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Cleveland. "PEOPLE AREN'T OUT DOING ANYTHING, THEY'RE SITTING AT HOME ON THEIR COMPUTERS AND TABLETS, THEY'RE CREATING NEW SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS."

Law enforcement tells 21 News Wednesday's search and arrest is part of an ongoing investigation - set in motion by a tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
They get tips from both citizens and internet service providers about possible cases of child sexual exploitation.

"WE'LL TAKE EACH CYBER TIP AND KIND OF SEND IT OUT TO THE AREA IT NEEDS TO GO...THEY'LL START WORKING ON IT USING OUR ASSISTANCE IF NECESSARY AND START BUILDING THEIR CASE FROM THERE," said sullivan. "THEN THEY'LL EXECUTE A SEARCH WARRANT AND DETERMINE BASED ON THE IP ADDRESS OF WHERE THIS ACTIVITY IS OCCUrRING WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP."

"NEXT WE'LL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH THE TASK FORCE AND THEN DOWNTOWN FOR A COURT CASE AND THROUGH THE LEGAL SYSTEM," said bazetta township police chief christopher herlinger. "IT'S PRETTY MUCH AT THIS POINT, IT APPEARS IT'S AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, EVENT, HANDLED LOCALLY WITH ASSISTANCE OF THE TASK FORCE AND BCI."

So far there's no word when Riccardi will appear in court.