Port Clinton man pleads guilty to 50-plus child porn charges

PORT CLINTON — A Port Clinton man recently pleaded guilty to downloading and creating child pornography. At a court hearing on Feb. 2, Cody S. James, 32, of the 700 block of Lincoln Court, pleaded guilty to 54 counts of pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor or impaired person, each a second-degree felony, and one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a third-degree felony. James pleaded guilty to all 55 charges listed in his July 2024 indictment, with no charges appearing to be amended or dismissed, according to court records. One day after James pleaded guilty to the charges, his attorney, Howard C. Whitcomb III, filed a motion to have James undergo a psychological evaluation to determine: 1. The status of James' current mental health condition; 2. The likelihood and/or risk that the defendant will likely re-offend in the future; and 3. The potential for placement of the defendant in an alternate treatment facility other than the state prison system. Ottawa County Common Pleas Court Judge Bruce Winters approved the motion on Feb. 5, with the evaluation to take place at the Court Diagnostics and Treatment Center in Toledo. It's unclear when the evaluation is scheduled to take place, or whether it will affect James' previously scheduled sentencing at 10 a.m. on April 13. Background The investigation into James began on July 3, 2024, when an agent from the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit received a cyber tip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after they received a request from the Port Clinton police regarding child sexual abuse material that was uploaded on the messaging app Kik, according to a report from the Ottawa County prosecutor's office. After reviewing the cyber tip, the agent noted several files that included a sexually explicit video of a prepubescent male and an adult male engaged in sexual activity. An agent from the Internet Crimes Task Force subpoenaed the Google account associated with the Kik account. The subpoena linked back to James's IP address, phone number and email address, the report states. After agents reviewed the subpoena results, they located James's address and spoke with him. Once the agents arrived at James' home, they explained to him why they were there and that it was in regard to child pornography. Upon hearing this, the agents noted that James "hung his head in a defeated manner, implying that he was aware of what I was talking about," the report states. When the agents asked James if he had ever produced child pornography, he shook his head "no" and explained that he produced stuff with a person he met a few years ago, but that he didn't know the male was under the age of 18, and claims that they lied to him about their age, according to the report. While at James' home, the agents additionally asked where he kept the pornographic images and said that they were in his phone. James voluntarily allowed agents to access his phone, the report states. Shortly after their initial meeting with James, the agents conducted a follow-up interview with him. Based on evidence from his phone and his admission to the police, James was arrested on July 10, 2024, and booked into the Ottawa County Jail.