ELYRIA, Ohio — An Ohio man will spend 30 years in prison for pretending to own a modeling agency to groom children into sending him sexually explicit images through Snapchat.
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On Nov. 25, 36-year-old Joshua Glover, of Elyria, was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a U.S. District Judge after pleading guilty in July to receipt and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and to possession of child pornography, which is also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
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Glover was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after imprisonment and to pay $2,000 in assessments toward a monetary reserve for victims of CSAM.
“Glover’s vile and despicable manipulation of underage girls has come to an end. He will no longer commit these heinous and horrendous crimes against vulnerable children,” David M. Toepfer, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said. “We are immensely grateful to the FBI Cleveland for the thorough investigation that led to Glover’s three-decades-long sentence to keep him behind bars where he cannot continue this predatory behavior.”
Court documents indicated that from January 2022 to January 2024, Glover used the social media platform, Snapchat, to engage with hundreds of minor girls under the guise of owning a modeling agency.
His typical victims ranged in age from 12 to 15 years old and were located throughout the country.
Investigators found that Glover repeatedly sent requests for sexually explicit photos and videos to young girls with the lure of joining his modeling agency and receiving payment for their images and videos.
Glover reportedly initiated over 18,000 chats and covered with some victims for years, building relationships where he directed the type of sexual activity the minors engaged in and offered to meet with them in person to engage in sex.
“Contacting, coercing, and preying on young girls through social media to gain their trust and elicit inappropriate behavior is cold and callous,” Greg Nelsen, FBI Special Agent in Charge, said. “This sentence underscores the commitment of not only the FBI, but also our federal, state, and local partners who will ensure a full and thorough investigation that leads to taking predators like Glover offline and out of our neighborhoods. The FBI will continue to work collaboratively to combine resources and share expertise to identify those who commit these appalling crimes and find justice for the victims.”
Federal search warrants of Glover’s digital devices and online accounts revealed that he possessed approximately 100 files of CSAM.
Glover admitted to investigators that he estimated he received images and videos from over 90 different minors.
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