Pandering, child endangering convictions upheld

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The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a man for endangering children and attempting to commit pandering of obscenity in one case and failure to appear and vandalism in a related case.
Jonathon Jones, 34, Toledo, challenged the ruling by the Wood County Common Pleas Court that imposed concurrent sentences of 36 months for endangering children and attempting to commit pandering obscenity. Jones was also classified as a Tier 2 sex offender.
The trial court also imposed concurrent prison sentences of 18 months for failure to appear and 12 months for vandalism.
However, the court ruled the sentences for both cases had to be served consecutively to one another, resulting in an aggregate term of 54 months.
In his appeal, Jones alleged the trial court erred in imposing maximum sentences and the consecutive sentence.
He argued the charges stem from single incidents and the trial court failed to follow the statutory requirements in setting prison terms.
The appeals court ruled that the common pleas court met the requirements in the Ohio Revised Code.
“We have reviewed the record and find the trial court complied with the sentencing statutes in imposing sentence,” the appeals court wrote.
The cases originated on Oct. 24, 2022 when Lake Township police stopped Jones and a 16-year-old girl as they were walking along a road near a truckstop.
The girl initially gave a false name and age, but police later identified her and her correct age and determined she had been reported as a runaway after leaving an eating disorder clinic in Columbus. Jones admitted picking her up from the clinic, claiming they’d met online and she told him she was 19.
Police found nude photographs of the girl on Jones’ phone as well as a video of him and the girl having sex. According to court records, Jones admitted to disseminating the video.
He was indicted by a Wood County grand jury on Nov. 3, 2022 on seven counts, including endangering children, pandering obscenity (2 counts), contributing to unruliness or delinquency of a child, interference with custody, possessing criminal tools, and failure to comply with underage alcohol laws.
In March 2023, Jones entered a guilty plea to endangering children and the pandering obscenity charges but cut off his ankle monitor and left the state prior to a scheduled sentencing hearing
He was taken into custody on May 24, 2023 and the next month he was indicted for failure to appear at his hearing and vandalism. He initially entered a not guilty plea in the second case but later changed his plea to guilty and the court proceeded to sentencing in both cases.