Convicted child molester sentenced to life in prison

FREMONT — A man previously convicted of raping a child in March 2024, and who won on appeal to have it overturned, will, once again, spend the rest of his life in prison. At a court hearing on Feb. 4, Leroy A. Stratton Jr., 45, a former inmate at the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio, was convicted on one count of rape, a first-degree felony. Stratton was found guilty on the single charge of rape on Jan. 21 at the end of a one-day trial by a panel of 12 jurors. Retired visiting Marion County Common Pleas Court Judge William Finnegan sentenced Stratton to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Stratton additionally received credit for two-and-a-half years served in jail and is classified as a Tier 3 sex offender, which means that he must provide verification of his home and work addresses to the local sheriff every three months for the rest of his life. Background Stratton was originally indicted by a Sandusky County grand jury in July 2023 on the single charge of rape for raping a then-18-month-old child, according to court records. Stratton was later found guilty by a jury on the single charge of rape. On March 12, 2024, Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jon Ickes sentenced Stratton to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Successful appeal Shortly after Stratton's sentencing, he filed an appeal with the state's Sixth District Court of Appeals, arguing that his case was not properly ruled on due to a conflict of interest. Law enforcement first learned of the allegations against Stratton when the FBI reportedly discovered a video of the abuse being livestreamed on the dark web. Based on this information, the FBI transferred the investigation to Fremont police for further investigation. The lead detective on the case, Christian Ortolani, testified at trial as a prosecution witness. Before his trial, Stratton reportedly learned that Ortolani was Ickes' stepson, according to court documents. Since Stratton had some concerns about his possible sentence, Ickes postponed the plea hearing to the next day. The following day, Stratton appeared for his plea hearing but chose not to enter a plea. Stratton was reportedly afraid that "he would not get a fair decision" because Ortolani was Ickes' stepson, court records state. Despite Ickes' failure to recuse himself, Stratton did not seek his removal through an "affidavit of disqualification." On appeal, judges ruled that Stratton's due process rights were violated, and the case was reassigned to Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeremiah Ray. Stratton's case was also cited among allegations of misconduct levied against Ickes in a 2025 review by a state board. The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct investigated a complaint that Ickes had referred to Stratton's case as the "baby (expletive) sucking case" among his court staffers. The board ruled that Ickes violated a rule relating to judicial conduct but imposed no immediate punishment — rather, he was given a suspended one-year law license suspension, meaning the sanction would not go into effect unless further misconduct occurred. Past convictions Aside from his current case, this isn't the first time that Stratton has been charged with committing sex crimes against children. Stratton has a case that dates back to December 2001 in Sandusky County, where he was indicted on a single count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony. He later entered into a plea deal, pleading guilty to a lesser count of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fifth-degree felony, according to court records. On June 12, 2002, Ray sentenced Stratton to serve three months in the Sandusky County Jail and five years of probation. Stratton also has a criminal conviction in St. Joseph, Indiana, for child molesting, a class C felony, according to Indiana court records. On April 13, 2011, an Indiana judge sentenced Stratton to serve four years in prison. It was unclear where he was incarcerated or whether he had to serve the full term. Stratton is also listed as a sex offender on Florida's Sexual Offender and Predator Registry database.