Toledo man sentenced to prison for attempted sex crime

FREMONT — A Toledo man who previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in his felony sex case was sentenced to prison earlier this week. At a court hearing on Aug. 17, Matthew J. Cordes, 46, was convicted on one amended count of attempted pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a third-degree felony. The charge was amended from pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a second-degree felony. Cordes pleaded guilty to the single amended charge on June 16. No other charges were dismissed or amended as part of the plea agreement. Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jon Ickes sentenced Cordes to serve three years in prison and received about five months of jail time credit, according to court records. Under the terms of his sentencing, Cordes is additionally classified as a Tier 3 sex offender, which means that he must verify his home and work addresses every three months for the rest of his life. Cordes is also subject to a mandatory term of five years post-release control. Background Cordes was arrested by Sandusky County Sheriff's Office deputies on March 19 on a warrant stemming from an indictment by a Sandusky County grand jury on Nov. 7, 2025. Cordes was booked into the Sandusky County Jail on a single count of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a second-degree felony. According to Cordes' indictment, the crime occurred on or about May 28, 2024, when he reportedly "published an image depicting a nude minor female through Facebook Messenger."