OU professor, facing child pornography charges, due in court
Amol Kharabe, the Ohio University professor in the College of Business accused of possessing child pornography, is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial Tuesday morning.
Kharabe, 42, pleaded not guilty Feb. 13 to a 12-count indictment charging 10 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, one count of pandering obscenity and one count of possessing criminal tools, which were determined from an Athens arrest warrant.
Judge George P. McCarthy set his bond at $50,000 at the Feb. 13 arraignment. Since then, Kharabe has been locked up in a Franklin County correctional facility since his arrest in Dublin, where he has a home, according to a previous Post article.
OU officials have said there is no evidence indicating that Kharabe downloaded any obscene material on OU servers or WiFi.
Following his pretrial, Kharabe will appear in court for a jury trial July 8, according to court documents. He remains on paid administrative leave.
Of two local men accused of Craigslist robbery, one due in court next week
Two Nelsonville men are accused of using Craigslist to convince a victim to come to their apartment so they could rob him.
Jace Johnson, 18, and Micheal Nowell, 20, allegedly placed a fake personal advertisement on Craigslist with the intention of bringing someone to their apartment so they could steal from that person.
The victim responded to the ad and came to their Nelsonville apartment on August 2, according to court records. Johnson and Nowell allegedly threatened the victim with an airsoft rifle and told him to get on the ground and brandished a weapon. Court documents indicate that the victim fled to a nearby house and called 911.
Johnson and Nowell are charged with one count of robbery, a second degree felony; one count of robbery, a third degree felony; one count of conspiracy, a third degree felony; and one count of telecommunications fraud, a fifth degree felony.
Johnson’s pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 16 and Nowell’s is set for April 14.
County Democrats to pick an interim sheriff
The Democratic Central Committee, made up of local Democratic officials, is scheduled to make its selection for an interim sheriff Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
Julia Michael Scott, chairman of the committee, confirmed Monday that the committee will hear from both candidates, Acting Interim Sheriff Rodney Smith and Lt. Detective Jack Taylor.
It is unclear, however, whether the committee will select Smith, the same person that the Athens County Commissioners selected as acting interim sheriff March 27, and what will happen if the two boards disagree.
In a previous Post article, commissioner Lenny Eliason said the commissioners decided on Smith because they anticipate Smith would interact well with the community.
Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly was suspended from office following the 25-count indictment handed down Jan. 31. He said he decided not to contest the suspension so he can focus on his September jury trial.
He will appear in court for a final pretrial Aug. 29 and a jury trial Sept. 29, according to court documents.
Man wanted for sexual imposition
Police are looking for a man who has been accused of sexual imposition while on the seventh floor of Alden Library Saturday night. A female Ohio University student told Alden staff members the suspect touched her inappropriately.
The staff then called Ohio University Police Department, who then searched the building but did not find the suspect. He has been described as a “Black male, approximately 40 years old, 6 feet 3 inches tall, medium build, with short hair, wearing a black ball cap, grey hoodie, black T-shirt, and dark pants,” according to a release from OUPD. Police are still investigating the case and are encouraging anyone who has information to call Ohio University Police at (740) 593-1911 or give an anonymous tip to Crime Solvers at (740) 594-3331.
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