Federal investigators say a central Ohio man is under arrest for making child porn out of his Columbus apartment.
This comes after raids at two locations Thursday morning. The raids took place at 714 Lanreco Boulevard in Lancaster and 2996 Barclay Square in Columbus just after 7:00 a.m.
In the wake of the law enforcement activity, 23-year-old Eric Chavis was taken into custody by Immigration & Customs Enforcement at his Columbus apartment.
Homeland Security agents say the case involves child pornography. According to sources, the investigation involves a minor allegedly videotaped performing sex acts.
Authorities tell 10TV the probe began out of the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, who had come in contact with the victim after a prostitution sting in April 2015.
The victim said Chavis - an aspiring rapper who goes by the name "Thot King" - promised to make her a star in one of his videos when she was 16-years-old. She then came to the Columbus apartment and was given alcohol and marijuana. The victim participated in several videos where she was nude or partially nude.
Those videos were distributed to online social networks, pornographic websites, as well as for sale on DVD.
The victim told investigators she asked Chavis to remove the videos. However, he asked for sexual favors in exchange for removing them.
Chavis faces two counts of distribution of child pornograhy. If convicted, he could face between 15 and 30 years in prison.
Morning raids
Chavis’s ex-girlfriend and her father say they awoke to masked agents with guns. Once inside the Lancaster location, detectives began ransacking the house, tearing closets and throwing clothes on the floor. According to a search warrant, electronics - including cell phones, computers, cameras and media cards - were seized from the property.
The daughter and father tell 10TV Chavis previously stayed at the home and made rap videos with adult women in an upstairs bedroom.
Casey Casto, Chavis' ex-girlfriend, believes the raids aren’t connected to child pornography. She believes agents raided the home because Chavis rapped about having weapons.