Daily Archives: October 24, 2012

Ohio woman held on $2 million bail for murder charge

When a person is accused of committing a serious crime in Ohio, immediate and serious penalties can follow. This is particularly true in instances of a murder charge. In addition to facing lengthy criminal proceedings, an individual arrested of such a crime will face instant sanctions, like being taken into custody and subjected to seemingly unaffordable bail.

Recently, one 21-year-old Ohio woman was subject to such harsh penalties. Police found the woman at her 29-year-old boyfriend's apartment. Police say that the woman shot her boyfriend multiple times, ultimately killing him at the scene. When police arrived at the apartment, they arrested the woman. She has been charged with murder. However, police continue to investigate motives for the killing. In the meantime, authorities are holding the Ohio woman in custody on $2 million bail in light of her arrest.

In Ohio and other states, bail is the process by which officials set an amount of money that a person in police custody must pay in order to get released during criminal proceedings. Bail and custody can be just as overwhelming as the criminal charges a person faces. Often, criminal suspects get arrested and do not appreciate the early-stage arguments that can be made to assist their defense, particularly in regards to bail and in releasing them from custody.

Court officials set bail by looking at a host of factors, including the seriousness of the crime, injury to others, the individual's criminal record, the danger that individual may pose to the community and the individual's local ties, like family and employment. Essentially, the criminal justice system is evaluating whether the criminal suspect will return to court for the relevant proceedings and pose any sort of danger to the community in the meantime.

A good defense recognizes the factors that the court evaluates and helps individuals protect their rights and avoid the harsh conditions and penalties that come with early custody and high bail.

Source: Cincinatti.com, "Women held in death of Highland Hts. man," Jason Williams, Oct. 13, 2012

Two Ohio Men Sentenced to Prison For Child Sex Crimes

Two Ohio men recently received prison sentences for sex crimes involving children in unrelated cases.

In federal court, Martin Nathan Ross was sentenced to 148 months in prison on child pornography charges.  Ross previously had been convicted of sex crimes involving children in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.  He served a five year prison sentence on those prior charges and was required to register as a sex offender.

The new charges against Ross were filed after he shared child pornography on an Internet file sharing network.  Ross apparently agreed to share files containing child pornography with an undercover officer posing as another sex offender on-line.

In Warren County, Albert Moore, an 83-year-old Mason man, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sex crimes that started in 1984.  The Warren County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office did not release a lot of details about the crimes, but said that “All of the victims were acquainted with Moore and were under 13 years of age at the time of the offenses.”  The office also noted that the Mason Police Department began investigating when the victims notified family members of the offenses.”

These two cases suggest that sex offenses involving minor children remain a priority of federal and state law enforcement agencies.  The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, for example, that the charges against Ross were part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Allegations of sex crimes involving children – even if later proven to be false — are likely to receive substantial media coverage. At a minimum, the person alleged to have committed the crime will suffer significant damage to his or her reputation.  If convicted, a person facing sex crime charges involving minors faces substantial prison terms as well as the requirement to register as a sexual offender.  For this reason, it is important to any persons facing an allegation of this type of sex offense to seek a criminal defense attorney who has substantial experience.