FLORENCE, Ky. — A Florence man will spend the next few decades behind bars after taking a plea deal on Wednesday in a federal child pornography and child sex abuse case.
Harry Forgue, 31, sexually abused his foster children along with an additional victim he knew, investigators said.
He was arrested in late spring of 2020 and charged with 26 sex crimes.
He is currently in prison serving 20 years after being convicted by the state in March 2021 of sodomy, sexual abuse, video voyeurism, possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and tampering with evidence.
On Wednesday, Forgue took a plea deal in a federal case that increased his sentence to 33 years in prison, court documents show.
According to federal court documents, Forgue would pose as his 16-year-old adopted son on a dating app. When individuals would ask for explicit videos and pictures, Forgue would force his adopted son to film them.
At one point, Forgue was communicating with a 17-year-old in Mason, Ohio. He convinced the minor to send him explicit videos of himself and, according to court documents, they eventually met up for sex.
Forgue was a foster parent for a private organization called Necco for approximately five years, fostering 49 children during that time. It's because of this that the Boone County Sheriff's Department expects there arelikely more victims out there than the six who have come forward so far.
Some of the abuse that led to his prior state conviction included installing cameras in his home to record his foster children in secret. These cameras were also placed in the bathroom. He also forced them to pose nude and coerced them into performing sexual acts, deputies said.
At the time of Forgue's arrest, WCPO reached out to Necco to ask if it was typical for a foster parent to have six children at once, and 49 in roughly five years, but the company said it can't provide specific details as it works with the Boone County Sheriff's Department on this case.
"Necco is committed to the safety and well-being of all children placed in foster care," the company said in a statement. "Thus, every foster parent must successfully complete rigorous certification requirements under Kentucky regulations. We are working closely in partnership with the state and local law enforcement. We are prohibited by law from speaking on specific details."
According to police, many of Forgue's victims were under the age of 12.
Editor's note: In accordance with our mug shot policy, WCPO is choosing to show Forgue's mug shot because the Boone County Sheriff's Department has said they suspect there could be more victims out there.
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