Campbell man convicted of defrauding young girls with online ‘catfishing’ schemes | News, sports, jobs

Staff Photo / Ed Runyan Gerald Hamilton, 49, of Campbell, is seen during his sentencing hearing Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where he was sentenced to 15 to 19 years in prison after being convicted of crimes involving impersonation as a young man to convince them to send sexual images of themselves to him. His attorney, Nick Brevetta, is on the left.

YOUNGSTOWN – Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge R. Scott Krichbaum sentenced Gerald C. Hamilton, 49, of Sixth Street in Campbell, to 15 to 19 years in prison Tuesday for carrying out “catfishing” schemes against young girls.

Catfishing occurs when someone uses false information and images to create a false identity online with the intent to mislead, harass, or defraud another person. According to CNN, it is often used on social media or dating apps and websites as a tactic to initiate online relationships under false pretenses.

In Hamilton’s case, he had an “online persona that acted as if he were a teenage girl to engage in conversations with teenage girls, using various means to gain their trust,” said Kevin Day, assistant prosecutor.

Hamilton used photos of an older woman as if he were that woman to facilitate those conversations, Day said. Eventually, Hamilton got the girls to send him nude photos, Day said.

He convinced the girls that there was an older woman who could provide the young girls with medication, Day said. That was the ruse Hamilton used to convince a girl to meet him at a Mahoning County motel, Day said.

The girl, 14, “was given drugs and alcohol at the motel” and was “forced to do a striptease for the defendant,” Day said. In another incident, she was forced to provide alcohol to other men at a party while wearing lingerie, Day said.

The FBI discovered another victim, a young girl in Illinois, who convinced Hamilton to send him nude photos, Day said. The Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted the crimes involving the local girl, as well as crimes against a girl and a young woman in two other states.

“The evidence in this case paints a picture of Mr. Hamilton as a sexual predator, someone who preys on impressionable girls who don’t know any better,” Day said.

This is not the kind of case where “we’re trying to get you back on your feet,” Krichbaum said in sentencing Hamilton. “We are here for justice. That’s what this is about, because of what you did to these innocent young people. The victimization of these people is horrific.

‘I think it’s unbelievable to me that someone could engage in such behavior. I don’t understand it, and in that respect I think I have to thank God that I don’t understand it, that it’s not something that could be a part of my life.

A search warrant was executed at Hamilton’s home on Sixth Street in Campbell and that’s where much of the evidence came from, Day said. Hamilton’s charges alleged he committed his crimes between the fall of 2020 and the end of 2022.

Hamilton pleaded guilty in August to seven charges: two counts of criminal endangerment involving victims who were approximately 15 years old, two counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material and single counts of corrupting another with drugs, indulging in sexually oriented affairs involving a minor and identity fraud.

Day said the investigation into Hamilton’s crimes began with a report from a victim to a school resource officer. It prompted an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office and the FBI, which led to the execution of a search warrant at Hamilton’s home. Investigators discovered the victim entered a Mahoning County motel, where Hamilton gave the girl alcohol and marijuana. Social media and text messages were seen between the two and it appeared a third person was also communicating with the victim, but the third person, who was depicted as female, was actually Hamilton, Day said.

As a result of the plea, Hamilton has been designated a Level 2 sex offender, meaning he will have to register his address with the sheriff in the county where he will be required to register every six months for 25 years after he leaves prison.

Hamilton served as director of Community Outreach & Youth Development there, according to the Lawrence County YMCA website.

When The Vindicator asked for information about Hamilton’s time at the Lawrence County YMCA, Maria McKee, CEO, responded that the YMCA was aware of the allegations Hamilton was facing.

She said Hamilton had worked there for three months when he failed to report to work in June and officials learned he had been arrested. His employment was terminated. She said there were no allegations of misconduct by Hamilton on YMCA property or with YMCA participants. Hamilton also passed all background checks, child abuse clearances and completed the YMCA’s mandatory child abuse prevention training, she stated.

“The Lawrence County YMCA is proud to provide safe places for children and adults to grow in skills and confidence,” she continued. “We continue to pray for the victims following this sentencing. We will continue to review our staff and volunteer training policies to ensure they are aligned with best-in-class practices to help prevent such incidents from happening in the future.”