Galion man to trial on child porn charges

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A Galion man charged with multiple counts of sex-related crimes involving minors has turned down his latest and final plea agreement offer.

Marcus Williams, 35, formerly of 615 E. Church St., was in Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Thursday to accept or reject a plea agreement and opted for the latter.

Williams is charged with importuning, or soliciting an underage person for sexual conduct, a fourth-degree felony; disseminating material harmful to a juvenile, a fifth-degree felony; pandering sexually oriented materials involving a minor, a fourth-degree felony; and possession of criminal tools, a computer and cell phone, a felony of the fifth degree.

Due to images of children performing sexual acts that were allegedly found on Williams’ computer, the pandering charge has a total of 80 counts attached to it.

Williams’ residence was searched by officials from the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the FBI last fall after he corresponded with a law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. The county prosecutor’s office said Williams later confessed to the crimes.

Williams recently filed a motion through his attorney, Rolf Whitney, to suppress evidence regarding a computer seized during the raid of his residence. The motion states that a computer seized by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) has a serial number that does not match.

This is not the first time Williams has been accused of sex-related crimes involving children. He was charged with importuning and dissemination in Jackson County in 2011. He was only convicted of the dissemination charge which did not require him to register as a sex offender.

Investigators do not believe that any local juveniles were involved in the crimes Williams is accused of currently.

Judge Sean Leuthold had ordered all motions in the case to be filed by Feb. 15 and will rule on those motions within the next few weeks as a trial date for Williams is set to begin on May 24.

Williams remains in the Crawford County Justice Center under a $2 million bond.

Also, a Bucyrus man opted to plead guilty instead of standing trial before a jury of his peers on Tuesday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.

Stanley E. Hunt, 26, entered a guilty plea to breaking and entering and was sentenced to eight months in prison. He must also pay a $750 fine, court costs and $50 in restitution to Will Pifer Repair Service.

As part of Hunt’s plea agreement with prosecutors, a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property was dismissed.

In addition, a Crestline man who violated the terms of his community control will now serve a four-year prison sentence.

Jeremiah T. Carroll, 29, spent 10 months in prison of a four-year sentence after he was convicted of aggravated robbery, a second-degree felony, in 2014. He was then placed on community control but allegedly violated several terms of his probation. He admits to failing to report to his probation officer since September of 2015.

Judge Sean Leuthold re-imposed Carroll’s four-year prison sentence. He will receive credit for time served.

Stanley Hunt
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2016/04/web1_Stanley-Eugene-Hunt-150×15020163312912439.jpgStanley Hunt

Jeremiah Carroll
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2016/04/web1_carroll_jeremiah201633132324803.jpgJeremiah Carroll

Marcus Williams
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2016/04/web1_Marcus-Williams.jpgMarcus Williams

By Kimberly Gasuras

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Reach Gasuras on Twitter: @kimberlygasuras

 

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