Doctor pleads not guilty to child porn charges

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XENIA — The attorney for a Beavercreek doctor charged with 145 child pornography possession felonies says the images are “not even close” to what the public would expect from a case like this.

Dr. Gregory Ramey, 70, pleaded not guilty to all charges via video arraignment Feb. 28 in Greene County Common Pleas Court.

The former Dayton Children’s Hospital doctor was indicted Wednesday for 90 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, 27 counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor, 25 counts of attempted pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor and three counts of tampering with evidence. The offenses allegedly happened between January 2012 and August 2019.

According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Ramey was identified as the source of electronic downloads of child pornography and was reported to the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Reed from Yost’s special prosecutions section said the victims have not yet been identified.

“We are working with the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children to hopefully identify them,” Reed said in court.

Defense attorneys Jon Rion and Jon Paul Rion are representing Ramey.

“The allegations are obviously serious, but the allegations as the public and most people normally understand them to be, I think, are substantially different in this case,” the younger Rion said outside the courtroom. “In other words, when you hear these types of allegations, certain images come up in your mind. We’ve reviewed all the evidence in this case and we can tell you that the images are not even close to what the general public would even think would be associated with a case like this … it’s far more benign than one would normally expect to find … ”

Rion described some of the images as “borderline,” “slightly provocative” in nature — but said they were not pornography. He said all of the minors — ranging in age — in the images were clothed, and that there are no images of nude genitalia or sex acts. He said there were some images with “partial exposure,” but that they were not obscene or inappropriate.

There are no allegations that Ramey created the images, nor that he was sharing them, the attorney said. The motive — or reasons for Ramey possessing the images — will come out as the case moves forward, Rion said.

According to Ramey’s LinkedIn page, the doctor was the executive director of the Center for Pediatric Mental Health Resources at Dayton Children’s Hospital. When the hospital was made aware of the investigation, it immediately placed him on administrative leave and then terminated him.

“In his professional role, Dr. Ramey was an advocate for children’s mental wellness and a frequent speaker on issues of child endangerment and exploitation. Therefore, we were blindsided by the allegations of inappropriate behavior in his personal life,” a statement from the hospital said. “Nothing in the performance of his professional role created any suspicions. We are shocked and deeply troubled by these allegations … “

Hospital officials said the charges are not related to his work at Dayton Children’s.

“Dr. Ramey has given a lot of years of service to his community and I know the attorney general’s office is turning that against him in this case,” Rion said. “But the fact of the matter is that he served nobly and loyally to the Dayton community and none of the allegations involve anything related to work, whatsoever. And so all the great work he did for the community, in my mind, is left untarnished.”

Magistrate Margaret Young set a jury trial for Monday, May 18 and said Ramey’s bond will continue at $500,000 cash surety. Rion said he expected his client to be released from custody and home with his family Friday night.

Anna Bolton | Greene County News Jon Paul Rion, defense attorney for Dr. Gregory Ramey, talks to reporters outside the courtroom Feb. 28.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/02/web1_Rion.jpgAnna Bolton | Greene County News Jon Paul Rion, defense attorney for Dr. Gregory Ramey, talks to reporters outside the courtroom Feb. 28.

Ramey
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/02/web1_Ramey-3.jpgRamey

Magistrate Margaret Young speaks to Jon Paul Rion and Jon Rion during the arraignment.
https://www.fairborndailyherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2020/02/web1_RionRion.jpgMagistrate Margaret Young speaks to Jon Paul Rion and Jon Rion during the arraignment.

By Anna Bolton

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Call 937-502-4498 or follow Anna Bolton, Reporter on Facebook.

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