A second former Ohio University employee was indicted in connection to the theft and sale of bones and preserved human remains from a university anatomy lab.
Jerry Reed, 49, of Bremen, Ohio, was indicted in the Athens County Common Pleas Court Monday for one count of obstructing justice, a felony of the fifth degree, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
According to court documents, the incident took place from Nov. 14, 2012 through Feb. 4, 2013. The teaching materials stolen from the lab included loose human bones, skulls, skeletons, plastinated human remains, autopsy saws and other materials that had been purchased by the university.
Reed is accused of obstructing justice for allegedly warning Weston Henri Moquin, of Athens, who pleaded guilty to stealing the materials, of the police investigation.
Moquin, 28, who worked in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine prior to the incident, was indicted in the Southern District of Ohio Federal Court. He pleaded guilty to •one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and •one count of theft from a program receiving federal funds.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southeastern District of Ohio, Moquin not only stole the bones and human remains, but he sold them primarily through his eBay account.
Most of the materials were shipped to customers in California, Utah and Oregon and earned Moquin more than $84,000.
Per his plea agreement, he will pay restitution to the university.
Reed will be arraigned in county court Feb. 5. OU spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said in an email that he is currently on paid administrative leave from the university.
@KellyPFisher
kf398711@ohiou.edu
