Pike County officials announce sex crime investigations
Pike County Prosecuting Attorney Michael A. Davis and Pike County Sheriff Tracy D. Evans jointly announced that over the last several months, there have been multiple operations and investigations into sexual crimes involving children in Pike County. Below is a synopsis of those operations and investigations.
Toward the end of summer 2024, Pike County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI arrested Sean Spellman for his alleged role in the distribution of child sexual abuse material that depicted children as young as infants being sexually assaulted. Spellman allegedly had thousands of images and videos in his possession that depicted horrific scenes of child exploitation. Spellman is serving a 16-to-20-year prison sentence.
During the fall of 2024, the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, the Waverly Police Department and the Piketon Police Department, conducted multiple operations throughout Pike County that led to the arrest and conviction of alleged would-be child predators, Michael Waugh (allegedly tried to meet a child for sex), Larry Zehm (allegedly drove from Parkersburg, W.Va. to meet a child for sex), Carl Loper (allegedly tried to meet a child for sex) and Brad Peters (allegedly tried to buy sex from an adult and child). All these individuals were convicted and sentenced to prison in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.
Additionally, on April 16, 2025, Kyle Rhoades was sentenced to serve 16 to 20 years in prison for the unlawful possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This is a result of a significant joint investigation between the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office, Pike County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio BCI and the Southern Ohio Major Crimes Task Force.
During the spring of 2025, the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, began investigating two male subjects identified as Byron Myers and Joseph Keeney who were allegedly attempting to buy sex from a female child. Their cases have been indicted and are currently before the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.
In another investigation, a male named Joseph Heflin from Marble Falls, Texas, allegedly traveled to Pike County, Ohio to meet a female child for sex and to take her to Texas with him. Mr. Heflin has been indicted, and his case is currently being heard in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas. This case has drawn the interest of Texas authorities and the FBI.
Around this time, the Pike County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, began investigating an incident involving the alleged attempted exploitation of children in Pike County. The investigation uncovered a male suspect who was allegedly attempting to lure children so that they could be used in the production of child sexual abuse material and exploited. The children involved were as young as 10 and 11 years old.
As the investigation continued, it was learned that the male suspect was living in Georgia, and investigators contacted the Twiggs County, Ga. Sheriff’s Office and began to work hand in hand with their Criminal Investigation Division. The male suspect was identified as Clayton Huber Pender, 56, of Twiggs County, Ga. Investigators from Twiggs County were familiar with Mr. Pender and his criminal history that included prior convictions in Georgia for child molestation. Mr. Pender was on parole for these crimes at the time of this investigation.
Investigators from Pike County and the Task Force travelled to Twiggs County, Ga., where they worked close with their counterparts at the Twiggs County Sheriff’s Office. This investigation culminated in the arrest of Mr. Pender by authorities with Twiggs County on July 3, 2025. Mr. Pender is currently incarcerated in Georgia on alleged parole violations, sex offender registry violations and several new charges related to this case.
Mr. Pender has also been indicted in Pike County by a Pike County grand jury on additional charges in this case, with felony warrants on indictments being filed. We are happy to report that NO children were harmed by Mr. Pender and that he has been taken off the streets, making the State of Ohio and the State of Georgia safer. We would like to thank the hard work of the Twiggs County Sheriff's Office, and their dedication to protecting children from people like Mr. Pender.
These operations during the last several months have truly been a team effort that would not be possible without the Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Task Force, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Pike County Sheriff’s Office, Piketon Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Twiggs County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office.
Special thanks go to Chief Deputy Chris Jones PCSO, Major Bob Barbie PCSO, Taskforce Agent Lucas Jenkins, Officer Roger Risner PCPO, dispatcher Alexis Shreck PCSO, our undercover officers, decoys and two “unnamed” individuals for their exemplary work during these operations.
I would like to personally recognize the difficult and tireless work of Pike County Prosecutor’s Investigator Alan Wheeler. Inv. Wheeler has spent the last two years training on and honing the use of Artificial Intelligence in order to head up and conduct these investigations and operations during the last several months in Pike County and those that will continue.
I would like to remind everyone to please monitor your children’s use of social media and electronic communications devices. There are a lot of dangerous people out there who will try and take advantage of your children in many different ways.
Finally, we are NOT done with these operations.
Note: An indictment is merely a charge and is not evidence of guilt.