Former public official sentenced on child porn charges in Brown County

A former public official was sentenced recently to at least four years in prison after pleading guilty to two child porn charges in Brown County.

As previously reported by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Dennis Chaney, 70, of Dayton was indicted in April on 10 counts, including five counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, all second-degree felonies; and five counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, all fourth-degree felonies.

Chaney had previously been a Special Deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office from September 2011-December 2013, and at the time of his arrest, he had recently resigned from the Ohio Lottery Commission, according to the BCSO.

Court records show that Chaney pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to two counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. The remaining eight charges were dismissed.

For those two charges, the indictment alleged that between Nov. 1, 2017 and Nov. 30, 2022, Chaney “did create, direct, produce or transfer material or performance that showed a minor in a state of nudity.”

After accepting Chaney’s guilty pleas, Brown County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Gusweiler sentenced Chaney to two years on each count, to run consecutively, for a total minimum of four years in prison. Under the Reagan Tokes Law, that sentence could be up to five years. Chaney had two days of jail time credit.

In addition, Chaney will be classified as a tier II sex offender, requiring registration every 180 days for 25 years.