MANSFIELD — The trial of a 28-year-old man indicted on 31 counts related to child pornography has been delayed indefinitely in Richland County Common Pleas Court.
Bryce Witchey of Mansfield has waived his right to a speedy trial and his attorney has requested more time to prepare.
In addition, a forensic mental evaluation ordered by the court has not been completed in the case by the District 5 Forensic Center.
Witchey, arrested June 14 by Mansfield police after a woman claimed he was talking to her via social media and seeking sex with her 8-year-old daughter, remains in the Richland County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
A jury trial was scheduled Sept. 5, but Judge Brent Robinson stayed it, pending the forensic evaluation. A second trial date was scheduled Oct. 14, but was continued by the defendant when attorney Rolf Whitney filed a continuance motion.
Witchey, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, waived his right to a speedy trial on Oct. 21.
Originally charged with attempted importuning in June, Witchey was indicted in August on 30 additional counts, largely based on multiple electronic devices found his home on the city’s south side.
Electronic devices were initially seized in April from Witchey’s home, two months before he was arrested and charged with trying to use the internet to seek sex with an 8-year-old girl.
Nearly half of the child pornography charges against Witchey date back to images from April 2023, according to an indictment returned in August by a Richland County grand jury.
During Witchey’s arraignment in Common Pleas Court, Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher told Magistrate Jill Cochran multiple electronic devices were recovered from Witchey’s home, cautioning the court if the defendant successfully posted bond and was released.
“I would let the court know that his (electronic) devices were seized in April,” the prosecutor said, a clear indication there was an ongoing investigation into Witchey before his arrest in June.
“We were back at the residence in June and seized additional electronic devices.
“We learned that there were additional electronic devices on their way (to Witchey) having just recently been purchased. So I think it’s important for the court to be aware that he has no contact or access to those (new devices),” Schumacher said in August.
According to the indictment, 14 counts of “illegal use of minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance” are from April 7, 2023. One count on the same charge is from Feb. 19, 2024.
All 15 of those are second-degree felonies, each carrying a prison sentence of two to eight years if convicted.
He is also charged with 15 counts of “possessing or view any material or performance that shows a minor or impaired person who is not the person’s child or ward in a state of nudity, unless the person knows that the minor’s or impaired person’s parents, guardian, or custodian has consented in writing to the photographing or use of the minor or impaired person in a state of nudity and to the manner in which the material or performance is used or transferred.”
Those allegations stem from April 18, 2024, and are fifth-degree felonies, each carrying a maximum of one year in prison. He was indicted on one count of the same offense on an allegation dated June 13, 2024.
The attempted importuning charge is also from June 13, a fourth-degree felony with a maximum imprisonment of 18 months.
