Former interim Delaware County Sheriff Mark Wolfe was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.
Mark W. Wolfe, 50, of 11720 Kilbourne Road, Sunbury, was in jail Thursday, where he has been since he surrendered himself to U.S. marshals in Columbus on Aug. 10.
Court officials said the charge of distribution and the charge of receipt of child pornography are each punishable by between five and 20 years in prison, and the charge of possession of child pornography carries a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Wolfe was Delaware County’s interim sheriff for five days in 2007 before the Republican Party central committee appointed Walter Davis as sheriff.
Court documents allege that between Sept. 1, 2010, and July 28, 2015, Wolfe received and distributed videos and pictures of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity.
Undercover agents from the FBI were conducting an investigation into online child pornography and on June 5 downloaded several pornographic videos involving children from Wolfe’s IP address in Sunbury.
Investigators executed a search warrant of Wolfe’s home on July 31 and seized a laptop computer owned by Wolfe. Investigators say a preliminary examination of the laptop yielded 486 videos and 203 images of child pornography. Investigators say the youngest of the children being sexually abused was 8 months old.
Analysis of the laptop also revealed chat messages between Wolfe and several others between September 2014 and June 2015. Investigators say pornographic files were transferred during the chats.
Investigators say Wolfe stated in the messages that he had engaged in sex with a 13-year-old girl who was a friend of his daughter.
Court documents also indicate that a laptop computer, a desktop computer and an external hard drive were seized and are being held as evidence by the government.
Officials say that Wolfe served as a deputy in the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office from August 1994 to September 1997 and has had no association with the sheriff’s office since his removal in 2007. Wolfe ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in Delaware County in 2000 and 2004.
Wolfe has reportedly worked for various law enforcement agencies throughout central Ohio. The Associated Press reported he had been police chief in Edison in Morrow County. Wolfe is currently the founder and president of AREA Security & Consulting.
