Hillsdale man pleads not guilty in teen-sex case

7/22/2008

A Hillsdale man who police say came to Toledo to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl after making contact online was arraigned in Lucas County Common Pleas Court yesterday.

Garry Ritchey, 36, pleaded not guilty to disseminating harmful matter to a juvenile and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Judge Denise Ann Dartt set a Sept. 10 trial date.

Mr. Ritchey, who has been in custody since his July 10 arrest, was released on his own recognizance. He faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison if convicted on both counts.

Married for 16 years and the father of two young children, Mr. Ritchey was arrested in the 3100 block of Shawnee Road near Trilby Park, where he was set to meet with a police officer who had posed on the Internet as a teenage girl.

Police said Mr. Ritchey had been talking with the officer online since April and asked to meet her in Toledo for sex. He also is accused of sending the officer explicit videos of himself, police said.