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WARREN -- The man at the center of a February raid in Liberty pleaded guilty to seven felony counts dealing with the downloading of child pornography.
Adam Brooks, 36, of East Liberty Street, Liberty, appeared with his attorney Eugene Fehr in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to plead guilty to four counts of illegal use of minors in nudity oriented material and three counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.
According to terms of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop seven counts of the indictment.
The plea headed off a jury trial that was scheduled to start Sept. 28 before Judge Andrew D. Logan.
Brooks, who could face indefinite prison sentences, will be sentenced by Logan after he undergoes a background investigation by probation officers. At sentencing, the judge also will label Brooks a Tier 2 sexual offender, meaning he must register his address with the sheriff's office twice per year for 25 years.
Brooks' home in the 200 block of East Liberty Street was the target of a Feb. 8 raid by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. Authorities, including the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, seized Brooks' computer and cellphone. Prosecutors stated authorities found evidence of child pornography downloaded between the devices.
Fehr asked the judge that Brooks, who had posted bond through the court's pretrial release program, be allowed to visit his minor children under the supervision of their mother. Logan took the motion under advisement and will decide at a later date. Both Fehr and prosecutors agreed that a Trumbull County Children Services investigation into alleged abuses of Brooks' own children "were found to be unsubstantiated."
gvogrin@tribtoday.com