St. Marys man sentenced on pandering charges

A St. Marys man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday after he pled guilty to 14 counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor.

Charles M. Purdy II, 32, appeared in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court to change his plea.

In January, law enforcement officers received an alert from Google about files on an account belonging to a registered sex offender. Police found related

89 related files and prosecutors indicted Purdy on 14 counts of pandering related to videos found depicting individuals between 2 and 14 years old. Purdy

had a prior conviction of importuning, stemming from a 2015 incident involving a 13-year old girl.

Common Pleas Court Judge Frederick Pepple was concerned about the proportionality of a jointly recommended sentence to other sex offense cases. That agreement would have put Purdy in prison for 13 years.

Prosecuting Attorney Laia Zink explained that

Rain there were a large amount of files on his computer and the prior sex offense indicated a likelihood to

Possible reoffend.

Pepple sentenced Purdy to 12 years in prison instead, one year less than the jointly recommended agreement in light of all the factors and proportionality of the agreement compared to sex offenders with more serious crimes.

“Frankly I’m giving some consideration for the defendant’s service to his country,” Pepple said, explaining the sentence.

He was referring to Purdy’s five years of service in the U.S. Army Infantry, including a tour in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was during his second tour that he

encountered a suicide bomber, and received traumatic brain injuries.

Auglaize County Public Defender Nick Catania said it was interesting that none of the incidents occurred until after he received a traumatic brain injury. Pepple warned it was a stretch to suggest PTSD and a brain injury were to blame for the offenses.

Catania also said nobody should have those images as it perpetuates a system that abuses chil

dren.

Pepple said he wasn’t surprised to learn Purdy was a victim of molestation when he was younger, which he learned he talked to him before sentencing. He said that is a pattern among victims of sexual abuse that he has encountered in his career.

Purdy said he wants to continue his education in prison and inquired about judicial release. Pepple said he looks at the inmates full record

of their time in prison before considering a judicial release, including whether they received prison tattoos or joined a gang.