US4 min(s) read
Published 16:29 12 Aug 2026 GMT
A former hospital worker has been sentenced to prison after investigators discovered child sexual abuse material on his phone that a detective described as some of the most disturbing her unit had ever encountered.
Benjamin Naylor, 32, from Deer Park, Ohio, was sentenced on Monday to between seven and nine-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing illegal material involving children.
The former Christ Hospital scheduler pleaded guilty last month to eight counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor and one count of illegally using a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material.
Prosecutors said some of the material recovered from Naylor's cellphone involved an infant believed to be just two or three months old, while other victims were estimated to be between four and eight years old.
Cincinnati Police Detective Mary Braun told Hamilton County Common Pleas Court that the material found on Naylor's phone was among some of the very worst her unit had ever seen.
"The images that Mr. Naylor had were some of the absolute worst I’ve ever seen, and the chats were alarming," Braun said, according to FOX19.
"I’ve never seen chats like that."
Assistant Prosecutor Elyse Deters also made a disturbing claim about Naylor's views, telling the court: "He does not think child rape should be criminalized. In fact, he wants it legalized."
Naylor was arrested in December 2025 after being confronted outside the Christ Hospital Health and Aging Center in Cincinnati by Predator Poachers, a Texas-based group that monitors suspected online predators.
The group said it first encountered Naylor on Reddit while posing as a 13-year-old boy.
According to WCPO, Naylor allegedly told the undercover account that "age is just a number" before blocking it after becoming suspicious.
Members of the group later approached him at his workplace on December 3 while pretending to deliver a Secret Santa gift.
The roughly 40-minute encounter was livestreamed, and Predator Poachers founder Alex Rosen said Naylor admitted exchanging abusive material involving babies and toddlers.
Police were subsequently called to the hospital, leading to an investigation by the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations Unit, a multi-agency task force that investigates internet crimes against children.
Detectives later found illegal images and videos on Naylor's phone that he had allegedly shared with a user called "Active Perv", according to court documents cited by the Enquirer.
Christ Hospital told WCPO that Naylor worked as a scheduler and did not have direct contact with patients. He was quickly fired after the hospital learned of his arrest.
Naylor's lawyer, John O'Shea, asked Judge Wende Cross to impose probation rather than a prison sentence.
O'Shea argued that Naylor had autism, an intellectual disability, visual impairment and a traumatic brain injury.
He also said Naylor was born with a congenital skull condition and underwent surgery when he was just five months old.
According to his lawyer, Naylor had received assistance from the Hamilton County Department of Developmental Disabilities since he was three.
O'Shea described his client as immature and vulnerable to manipulation, telling the court that Naylor had previously lost $14,000 to someone online who had pretended to be his girlfriend.
He also argued that Naylor initially did not understand the harm caused by viewing abusive material he had not personally created.
Deters rejected that characterization, arguing that Naylor's online conversations demonstrated that he understood his conduct was wrong.
The prosecutor also said Naylor's disabilities did not explain his sexual interest in children.
Before he was sentenced, Naylor apologized and accepted responsibility for his actions.
"I'm truly deeply sorry. I take full responsibility," he said, according to WLWT.
Judge Cross told Naylor that the files represented "documentary evidence of the sexual abuse of real children" and explained that distributing such material meant victims were effectively harmed again.
"You caused real harm to children who you never met," the judge said.
Cross added that Naylor's diagnoses did not excuse behavior that had continued over a sustained period.
Following his release from prison, Naylor will remain under supervision for five years and must register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years.
He will also be required to undergo treatment.
