William D. Schaffer, age 52, of Wellington was arrested this week on a federal criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of Ohio, charging him with possession/access with intent to view child pornography and transportation of child pornography. The defendant was last employed as a Firefighter/EMT/Driver-engineer with the Elyria Fire Department.

“According to the allegations in the complaint, this defendant held a position of public trust and was simultaneously contributing to the online exploitation of children,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “Our office will continue to work with law enforcement at every level to ensure that we continue to hold our public servants accountable for their actions.”

“Allegations of child exploitation crimes are troubling enough, but even more disturbing is when the suspect is employed in a position that demands the public's trust as a firefighter,” said Vance Callender, special agent in charge of HSI Detroit. “HSI will take swift action against suspects in any public trust position to save children and ensure the community’s confidence in those employed in such jobs.”

According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, on April 30, 2020, the defendant used an email account to upload approximately 355 files of apparent child pornography over the Yahoo mail platform. On June 30, 2020, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Wellington address listed for the defendant. An iPhone, laptop computers, and external storage media were seized. The defendant told investigators that they would find images of child pornography on his computer and that he has viewed other files depicting child exploitation in the past. 

A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik.