Lakewood Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charges

The second of the three Lakewood men  has pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Michael Liggett, 54, faces 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to 15 charges related to child pornography.

Specifically, he pleaded to 12 charges of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor; two counts of illegal use of a minor in nude material or performance; and one count of possession of criminal tools.

Maria Russo, spokeswoman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, said Liggett was ordered to forfeit his computers, as well as CDs and DVDs.

His sentencing is scheduled for June 20.

Two other Lakewood men were also indicted last year as part of a 10-month investigation into child pornography by the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Neal Rigo, 47,  to 34 counts related to child pornography in February. He was sentenced in February to three years of probation.

Christopher Willard, 33, is set to appear in court next month. He faces 21 charges.

All three men are all believed to have possessed and traded child pornography sometime between December 2010 through October 2011.

As part of the Fall Clean Sweep operation, detectives identified IP addresses being used to trade and download child pornography pictures and videos — using new technology.

From December 2010 through October 2011, 46 law enforcement officers from 16 executed 36 search warrants on homes in 17 communities throughout Cuyahoga County.

Officers seized 1,501 items such as computers, CDs, DVDs, cell phones, flash drives, floppy disks, digital cameras, video gaming systems, VHS tapes, and weapons. Eighty-nine additional cases have been referred to 59 law enforcement agencies outside of Cuyahoga County, including one in Illinois.