Editor's note: This report contains disturbing content.
TEXARKANA, Texas -- An Indiana man who coerced girls into creating sexually exploitive and degrading images pleaded guilty Thursday before a federal judge in Texarkana.
Russell James Ott is expected to receive more than 21 years in prison, according to in-court discussions Thursday morning concerning the details of a proposed plea agreement. Ott, 35, appeared with Assistant Federal Public Defender Kenneth Hawk for a change of plea hearing Thursday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven in Texarkana's downtown federal building.
"I admit that I made threats against Victim 1 and Victim 2 in order to compel them to continue making and sending the pictures and videos I requested," a factual basis for Ott's plea states.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hornok said that while Ott is pleading guilty in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas where he abused the girl referred to as Victim 1 in court records, his plea agreement also reflects punishment and redress for the abuse of a 13-year-old girl in Oklahoma.
Hornok said officials in Oklahoma have agreed not to prosecute Ott there in light of his plea to a charge of sexual exploitation of children in the federal case in Texas.
"This is a global resolution of the matter," Hornok said.
Ott's threats and coercion of Victim 1 led her to produce images of "sadistic and masochistic conduct and other depictions of violence."
"I also persuaded and coerced Victim 1 to degrade and humiliate herself by producing material portraying Victim 1 naked inside a dog kennel drinking from a dog bowl," the factual basis states.
Ott also induced the girl to produce material portraying her with depraved, sexually oriented and misogynistic phrases written on her belly in black marker, including "slave" and "rape me."
"I coerced Victim 1 to engage in sexual contact -- the intentional, direct touching of Victim 1's genitals with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass and degrade Victim 1 and with intent to arouse and gratify my own sexual desire -- for the purpose of transmitting a live video of such conduct and to produce a visual depiction of such conduct," the factual basis states.
Ott agreed to forfeit two cellphones he used in his sexual exploitation of the girls.
"I knew the visual depictions would be transported over the internet from Victim 2 in Oklahoma to me in Indiana using a social media and messaging application," the factual basis states.
Hornok said the government and defense have agreed on a sentence of 262 months for Ott. There is no parole from a federal sentence, and offenders may accumulate up to 54 days of good time credit toward their sentences per year.
Ott's plea agreement includes prison time followed by 25 years of supervised release during which he will be monitored by federal officials. Ott must also register as a sex offender.
Hornok said Ott will be ordered to pay restitution to both girls in an amount to be determined by the court. Restitution directly paid to victims of sexual abuse and exploitation can be used to offset medical and mental health treatment expenses made necessary by the suffering they endure.
Ott is expected to owe a special assessment of $5,000 applicable in sexual exploitation cases.
Ott will return to court for formal sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in several months. Until then, Ott remains in federal custody. He has been held since his arrest last year in Indiana on a warrant stemming from his federal case in Texas.