By Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Some lawmakers want to quickly fix Ohio’s child enticement law after charges were dropped against a convicted sex offender in Worthington who recently tried to lure girls into his car.
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But even without a change in law, Jonathan Ringel, 25, of Virginia, wasn’t off the hook for long.
Like his 2015 convictions in Virginia, which related to touching himself and exposing himself to preteen girls, Ringel (right) was indicted last week on five charges related to his efforts to have sex with four young girls, ranging in age from 9 to 11, between late July and early August. Ringel moved to Worthington after being released early on parole.
Ringel was arrested on Aug. 14 in Worthington, after he approached a pair of girls on East North Street. But the child enticement charge was quickly tossed out in Franklin County Municipal Court, because the Ohio Supreme Court in 2014 invalidated part of Ohio’s child enticement law.
That prompted angry parents to contact officials including Rep. Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, who is now working on legislation to tighten up the law.
“While we can all agree that normal, innocent behavior should not be criminalized, it is not at all normal for a stranger to approach fourth-graders and coax them to enter his vehicle,” Duffey said.
The law made it a crime for anyone to ask a child under age 14 to accompany them into a vehicle or building without their parents’ consent, but, the 2014 ruling invalidated it.
Duffey wants to clarify the law to apply it to strangers with no legitimate relationship to a child or who are sexual offenders.
The bill could be introduced before the General Assembly returns in September.