DOJ wants retired Beavercreek DARE officer sentenced to more than 15 years

Kevin Kovacs pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in February.
Retired Beavercreek police officer Kevin A. Kovacs, left, shown in his police uniform, and right, shown in his orange Shelby County Jail jumpsuit following his April 2020 arrest in a federal child pornography case.

Retired Beavercreek police officer Kevin A. Kovacs, left, shown in his police uniform, and right, shown in his orange Shelby County Jail jumpsuit following his April 2020 arrest in a federal child pornography case.

The Department of Justice has requested that a judge sentence a retired Beavercreek DARE officer to more than 15 years in prison in connection to child pornography charges he pleaded guilty to earlier this year.

Kevin A. Kovacs, 60, of Fairborn, was indicted in June 2020. He is accused of possessing more than 780 images and 5,100 videos of child pornography, according to the DOJ. Authorities say Kovacs uploaded more than 300 images and 2,200 videos depicting child pornography between April 2015 and July 2017 to his Dropbox account.

He also used online messenger, social media, cloud storage and email accounts to transport and possess child pornography, according to the DOJ.

Kovacs pleaded guilty to transporting and possessing child pornography in February.

A plea agreement calls for Kovacs to be sentenced to between five and 20 years. The DOJ said in a sentencing memorandum filed in the case last month that certain enhancements should not be enforced as part of the plea deal and that 15 years in prison would be sufficient punishment for the 60-year-old.

Kovacs retired in August 2018 after 25 years with the Beavercreek Police Department. He worked as a patrol officer, crime prevention specialist and Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer with Beavercreek City Schools, according to a Beavercreek police Facebook post announcing his retirement.

But according to the sentencing memorandum, Kovacs was involved with child pornography in the last three years he worked.

“In subject case, the defendant’s prior status as a local police officer is a disturbing aggravating factor,” the memo says. “The fact he engaged in possessing and transporting child pornography while a DARE officer is even more troubling. Local DARE officers are expected to serve as a positive role model for school age children. The defendant has compromised the integrity of the DARE program along with the honor and reputation of the Beavercreek Police Department.”

The DOJ said that the “nature, content and quantity of the child pornography associated with this case is nothing less than stunning” and that “those who traffic in or consume child pornography must be punished severely.”

A message to Kovacs’ defense attorney was not responded to Monday. Kovacs’ case is due back in court on Aug. 2 for a sentencing hearing.

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