Registered sex offender receives 35-year prison sentence for sexually exploiting children – Law Officer

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio – Nicholas J. Veerkamp, a registered sex offender in Ohio, was sentenced in federal court to 35 years in prison Thursday for sexually exploiting two minor children, ages 9 and 12, according to prosecutors.

Veerkamp, 32, was convicted during a jury trial in October 2022 of sexually exploiting both kids and being in possession of child pornography, including photos of the same two children, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

“This defendant has shown a consistent pattern of sexually abusing children,” said Kenneth L. Parker, a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “In his current federal case, Veerkamp creeped into the bedrooms of minor girls and took sexually explicit photos of them. There is no place in society for someone engaging in this conduct that’s so harmful to our children.”

The sexual exploitation occurred one year after Veerkamp was initially required to register as a sex offender. The Colerain Township resident was convicted in 2016 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, Fox News Digital reported. 

Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett imposed Veerkamp’s sentence of 420 months — 35 years — on Thursday.

Court documents revealed Veerkamp kept photographs of both children on his electronic devices, including pictures taken of the 9-year-old’s genitals while she was asleep.

Investigators discovered additional images of other underage females on his devices, prosecutors said.

Veerkamp sexually exploited the unidentified 12-year-old victim in August 2017 when he took three photos of the child, which he kept, according to the attorney’s office.

The creeper sexually exploited a 9-year-old child two months later when he pulled the girl’s pants down while she slept, and used his other hand to take photos of her exposed genitals, federal prosecutors said.

The convicted sexual predator maintained 19 disturbing images of the victim, the office said.

When he is ultimately released from prison, Veerkamp with have a lifetime of supervised release, Fox reported. 

The investigation was conducted by the Colerain Township Police, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cincinnati Division of the FBI in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.