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Niles man sentenced in child porn case

WARREN — A Niles man pleaded guilty Wednesday to multiple charges in a child pornography case and was sentenced to two to three years in prison, according to court records.

Andrew Russo, 39, of Robbins Avenue, waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to a bill of information charging him with six counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, as well as single counts of receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of property involved in computer hacking, and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented performance or material. He was sentenced by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Westcott Rice.

In addition to his prison sentence, Russo was classified as a Tier 2 sexual offender, requiring him to register with the sheriff’s office twice a year for 25 years.

The case began when Niles police received a tip from a cyber abuse task force, leading to a search of Russo’s electronic devices. Investigators discovered thousands of photos hacked from a female victim’s iCloud account, including intimate images and childhood photos. One of the images had been altered by Russo, according to court documents.

During the sentencing, one of Russo’s victims addressed the court in a victim impact statement, detailing the emotional trauma caused by his actions.

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