By ANDREW SCOTT
Article Source

“Emily” sent Ritter photos of herself at his request. She then told Ritter her 26-year-old ex-boyfriend had taken photos of other girls her age having sex.

Ritter then asked, “18?”

During testimony, when Kohlman asked what Ritter meant by “18?,” Ritter said he was asking Emily if the girls having sex in the photos were 18 because he didn’t want her sending him any child pornography. But when cross-examined, Ritter contradicted himself by saying, “I wanted to confirm I was talking to an adult.”

When Emily told Ritter, “No, I’m 15,” Ritter said, “Aha, my bad. I didn’t know you were 15.” Ritter, who testified to not really believing Emily was 15, then continued talking to her and later sent her webcam images of himself masturbating.

“But that wasn’t the first time during the conversation that Emily told him she was 15,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski said in his closing argument. “She told him this at the start of the conversation. And when she did, instead of him ending the conversation right there, he said, ‘OK,’ and continued.”

Ritter said his controversial 1998 resignation from the U.N. drove him into a self-destructive depression that led him to spend more time in adult chat rooms. His screen name at the time was “OnExhibit,” since his sexual fantasy was women watching him masturbate.

Ritter said he knew the 14-year-old girl he met online in April 2001 and the 16-year-old girl he met there two months later were both Colonie, N.Y., police posing undercover.

He said he pretended to believe they were real minors and that he told both he would drive somewhere to meet and masturbate in front of them in a vehicle. He said he felt getting arrested by police was the only way to finally get help for the root of his problems.

“Why go to such lengths instead of just seeking professional counseling?” Rakaczewski asked the jury.

Police did not arrest Ritter when he went to meet the first girl, but told him they would arrest him the next time.

When meeting the second girl online in June 2001, Ritter asked her to call him on his cell phone so he could “make sure I’m not being set up,” though he testified he knew he was talking to undercover police. A female undercover officer called Ritter by phone and told him to meet her in the Burger King parking lot.

“If he really wanted police to arrest him so he could finally get the help he needed, why did he drive by the Burger King twice before finally pulling into the parking lot?” Rakaczewski asked. “Why not just immediately pull right in? Because he knew he was breaking the law by going to meet what he believed was a minor he had met online. Because he first wanted to be sure police weren’t there to grab him when he pulled in.”

Rakaczewski cited a former Colonie police detective lieutenant’s testimony about Ritter trying to drive away when spotting police and being stopped. This isn’t the behavior of someone who wants to be arrested, Rakaczewski said.

Police dropped the charges against Ritter after he finally got professional help for his depression.

“We’re happy with the verdict,” Rakaczewski said afterward, accompanied by Venneman. “The jury saw the case for what it was and saw Mr. Ritter for what he is and what he did. I do, however, feel sorry for his family, who had to be put through this.”

Juror Joe McFaulds of Effort said this was a “very hard” case to listen to and deliberate.

“The man needs help and I hope he gets it,” McFaulds said. “I feel bad for his wife and children.”

The jury at one point during deliberation had to ask for clarification on a few issues to help them reach a proper verdict.

“It just seemed logical,” juror Richard Hurley of East Stroudsburg said. “Even though the defense attorney did a beautiful job, the (prosecution’s) evidence was so obvious.”

Hurley said the graphic 30-minute webcam video of Ritter masturbating was a key piece of evidence the jury considered.

“(The video) and the defendant’s own words, when you matched them up, it was obvious,” Hurley said.