LISBON — A Beloit man facing 85 felony counts related to his alleged possession of multiple images of minors engaged in sexual acts had his jury trial moved, with the new date set at 9 a.m. May 19.

Joseph Paul Sabella, 38, Stanley Drive, was supposed to face trial on Tuesday, but the hearing was turned into a status conference which he attended. Defense attorney Ron Yarwood requested a continuance, which was granted with no objection from Columbiana County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Bonish.

A status hearing was set for 10:20 a.m. May 8 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before Judge Megan Bickerton. She continued Sabella’s $50,000 cash or surety bond and he remains out of jail.

He was charged with 10 counts of second-degree felony pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person and 75 counts of fourth-degree felony pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person.

In an affidavit filed by an agent of the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force in county Municipal Court, Sabella was identified as a hospital chaplain in Alliance.

According to the affidavit, investigators found that on April 8, 2025, Sabella allegedly uploaded and published an image of a child being sexually assaulted by an adult male.

On July 2, agents executed a search warrant at his Beloit home and learned he was allegedly in possession of numerous printed images of minors engaging in sex acts and numerous printed images of minors in a state of nudity.

The affidavit said “a brief perusal of numerous electronic devices seized indicated Sabella was in possession of thousands of images of child sexual assault material” and also “thousands of images of minors engaged in sex acts and in states of nudity.”