Grand jury indicts Butler County sex offender for sex crimes involving 10-year-old

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has indicted a Butler County registered sex offender who allegedly committed aggravated sexual abuse against a 10-year-old victim. Adam Kendel, 43, of Fairfield Township, was arrested on related local charges in April. He was indicted federally in late July and taken into federal custody on Aug. 12. Kendel is due to appear in U.S. District Court on Aug. 18 for a detention hearing. According to charging documents, on Feb. 28, Kendel crossed a state line with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor when he allegedly traveled from Ohio to Kentucky to engage in sexual conduct with the child victim. The indictment also alleges that, from August 2025 through March 2026, Kendel coerced and enticed the 10-year-old Kentucky girl to engage in sexual activity and produce child pornography. The final count in the indictment charges Kendel with committing new sex crimes while already registered as a sex offender. Aggravated sexual abuse is punishable at least 30 years and up to life in prison. Coercion and enticement carries a potential penalty of at least 10 years and up to life in prison. Committing these crimes while registered as a sex offender adds a mandatory 10-year prison sentence to any other sentence imposed. Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jason Cromartie, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and the Ashland, Kentucky, and Fairfield Township police departments announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle J. Healey and Ryan A. Keefe are representing the United States in this case. An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood , a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. # # #