LIMA — A former inmate at Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution who was found nearly three years ago in possession of a cell phone containing images of minors engaged in nudity and sexual activities waived his right to a trial by jury Wednesday.
Michael Porter, 49, agreed to have his case decided by Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser.
Porter is charged with 10 counts each of pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor and the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, felonies of the second- and fourth-degrees, respectfully.
Defense attorney Thomas Lucente earlier this year argued the case should be dismissed due to several factors, not the least of which was a “ridiculously long” investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol that “unjustly prejudiced” his client’s constitutional rights.
In his motion, filed in April of this year, Lucente noted that on Dec. 5, 2017, while Porter was an inmate at the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima, a cell phone was found in his possession. Porter was indicted by a grand jury on March 12 of this year – 828 days (2.3 years) after the phone was first seized.
The defense attorney noted that because the cell phone in question was smuggled into the prison, “possibly by an employee and given to an inmate,” and was used by many inmates and was passed around on a regular basis, the actual ownership of the phone was not certain.
Kohlrieser will hear the facts of the case Oct. 23 and will render a verdict.
Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Kenneth Sturgill put a plea offer on the record during Porter’s pretrial hearing Wednesday, effectively giving Porter the opportunity to plead guilty to five second-degree felony counts and five fourth-degree felony charges in exchange for the dismissal of all remaining counts. The offer will remain open through Oct. 2, Sturgill said.
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