A former reality television personality has admitted guilt to 17 charges tied to allegations of child sexual abuse and sexual conduct with animals, while more than a dozen additional counts remain before the court.
Tony McCollister, who appeared as a self-described “swinger” on A&E’s short-lived series Neighbors with Benefits, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor or impaired person and four counts of sexual conduct with an animal, Cincinnati’s FOX19 reported.
McCollister entered the pleas Sept. 28, the opening day of his bench trial in Warren County, Ohio. The judge is now considering verdicts on the 13 charges McCollister continues to contest: four counts of rape, one count of corrupting another with drugs, five counts of gross sexual imposition and three counts of child endangerment.
The investigation began in June 2025, when Warren County Sheriff’s Office detectives linked McCollister to an IP address Google had flagged over suspected child sexual abuse material, according to a press release issued by Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell.
Following the execution of search warrants, authorities said they located videos allegedly showing McCollister and Erica Grove engaging in “various types of sexual conduct with two dogs.”
Investigators later said they found evidence suggesting Grove and McCollister drugged a girl younger than six so they could rape and sexually assault her. Authorities also alleged that child sexual abuse material involving the girl was discovered during the investigation.
“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,” Fornshell said in a statement. “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.”
A grand jury indicted McCollister in February on the 30 counts described above. Grove was charged with 24 offenses, including four counts of rape, one count of corrupting another with drugs, five counts of gross sexual imposition, eight counts involving the illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performances, two counts of child endangerment and four counts of sexual conduct with an animal.
SEE ALSO: Attacker's knife malfunctions as bishop wields cross for protection – NewsFinale
Grove’s case went to trial several weeks before McCollister’s bench trial began. The counts alleging illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performances were dismissed. She pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with an animal and was found guilty of two counts each of child endangerment and gross sexual imposition, Cincinnati’s WCPO 9 and FOX19 reported. The judge acquitted her of the rape and drugging allegations after her attorneys argued that explicit text messages presented by prosecutors reflected fantasy rather than actual abuse.
“These messages ignite a visceral urge to condemn the defendant for the perverse conversations in which she engaged,” Judge Robert Peeler said as he announced the verdict. “But it’s fundamental that a civilized society must not punish for thoughts alone.”
He continued, “After careful consideration of the evidence presented, and certainly the lack of corroborating evidence presented, the court cannot say the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant engaged in sexual conduct with the child to warrant a conviction for rape.”
WCPO 9 reported that McCollister’s attorneys are advancing a comparable argument during his bench trial.
“It’s not a crime,” his defense attorney asked during cross-examination Sept. 29, “even for people to have fantasies that most of us kind of find gross, for the lack of a better word?”
Oxygen contacted the legal teams representing McCollister and Grove for comment, but neither responded immediately.
Warren County jail records reviewed by Oxygen indicate that Grove is scheduled to return to court Nov. 10.