An Ohio man who starred on a short-lived reality television show about suburban swingers allegedly raped a young girl and engaged in sexual conduct with dogs alongside his sicko partner.
Tony McCollister and Erica Lynne Grove, both 43, were arrested in late December after Google submitted a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children highlighting explicit material involving children linked to the reality star’s IP address, according to a news release from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
McCollister previously appeared on the A&E reality television series “Neighbors with Benefits,” which only aired two episodes in 2015 and followed the lives of swingers in an Ohio neighborhood.
McCollister was portrayed as the leader of the swinger community who aimed “to recruit new neighbors to join their freewheeling lifestyle,” according to one episode description.
Grove did not appear in the series.
During the six-month investigation, officials with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office uncovered a horrifying video of McCollister and Grove engaging in sexual conduct with two dogs, the news release said.
They eventually uncovered more evidence that the couple drugged and raped a young girl who was under 6 years old, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said.
Detectives also located additional child sex abuse material involving the same girl, according to authorities.
“Just when we thought that sex with the dogs was going to be the most horrific part of this case,
the detectives discovered evidence of the drugging and raping of a little girl. I’m sitting in a room full of people who investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse cases on a daily basis, we’re reviewing the evidence, and it’s just silence. It’s really difficult to even process,” Fornshell said.
Fornshell noted that the investigation is still in the early stages, but they doubled their efforts to bring the case to a grand jury quickly after learning about the alleged child rape.
Grove was indicted on 24 charges, including four counts of rape, one count of corrupting another with drugs, five counts of gross sexual imposition, eight counts of illegal use of minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, two counts of endangering children and four counts of sexual conduct with an animal.
McCollister was indicted on 30 charges, including four counts of rape, one count of corrupting another with drugs, five counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of endangering children, a staggering 13 counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person and four counts of sexual conduct with an animal.
The couple is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 4 at the Warren County Common Pleas Court.