CINCINNATI — A former PE teacher died Sunday while awaiting trial for several charges of child pornography and exploitation, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and originally reported by WCPO.
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Mark Altherr, 45, died of an apparent suicide, according to WCPO’s sources.
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Altherr was a PE teacher with Oak Hills Local School District and was facing more than a dozen federal charges tied to the exploitation of children, WCPO says.
Altherr was indicted in August on 16 counts of sexual exploitation of children, according to WCPO.
Court documents say Altherr’s charges are connected to illegal and explicit interactions with a victim who was between 5 and 6 years old, WCPO says. Altherr was also charged with producing child pornography from 2023 to 2024, WCPO says.
Altherr was also charged in connection to the distribution of explicit content online. The website Altherr used is described as “a child pornography community,” WCPO’s court documents say.
The FBI has determined that Altherr posted at least 262 posts on the site, WCPO says.
The FBI was able to locate Altherr on July 26, and found him with a child who they believed was in “imminent danger.” Agents arrested Altherr and found a young girl who was nude inside the hotel room, court documents say, according to WCPO.
The FBI then conducted a search on his home in Cincinnati, where they found images and videos depicting sexual abuse against children, WCPO says.
Altherr was being held in the Butler County Jail until his trial.
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