FREMONT, Ohio — The attempted importuning case against a Tiffin man arrested in March after a vigilante group’s viral confrontation at a Fremont Denny’s has been dismissed, eight days after prosecutors and defense attorneys jointly told the court that the group destroyed evidence in the case.
Fremont Prosecuting Attorney and Law Director Jim Melle moved to dismiss the charge against Ronald E. Callahan, 69, on Wednesday, July 29. Judge Daniel L. Brudzinski granted the motion the following day. The dismissal is without prejudice, meaning the state may refile the charge. Costs were assessed to the state, and the $5,000 surety bond Callahan posted in March was released Friday, July 31.
The judgment entry gives no reasoning beyond the standard formulation that the case was dismissed “for good cause shown and upon motion of the state.” Neither the motion nor the entry states why the state sought dismissal.
Both sides told the court the group destroyed evidence
On Tuesday, July 21, Melle and defense attorney John M. Kahler II filed a joint set of stipulations alongside a defense motion to compel compliance. The court took up that filing a week later.
In a journal entry dated Tuesday, July 28, the court wrote that the parties represented “that the group Dads Against Predators (DAP) destroyed evidence for use by prosecuting attorney & material to preparation of defense.”
The wording is significant in both directions. The evidence the parties described as destroyed was material to the state’s ability to prove the charge and to Callahan’s ability to defend against it. The court record does not describe what the evidence was, when it was destroyed, or under what circumstances.
Based on those stipulations, the court denied Callahan’s motion to compel — the only evidentiary ruling issued in the case, and one that went against him. The same day, Kahler withdrew a motion to suppress evidence and a motion in limine he had filed June 1, and a suppression hearing scheduled for that afternoon was vacated. The state’s dismissal motion followed the next day.
What the dismissal does and does not mean
A dismissal without prejudice is not an acquittal and carries no finding on the merits. No judge or jury weighed the allegations against Callahan, and he was not convicted of anything. The charge remains available to prosecutors to refile.
The charge itself was a first-degree misdemeanor, according to the court’s case record — the most serious misdemeanor level in Ohio, punishable by up to 180 days in jail. Under Ohio law an attempted offense is graded one degree below the completed offense, and completed importuning under the provision Callahan was charged with is a fifth-degree felony.
How the case began
Callahan was arrested March 12, a day after members of Dads Against Predators confronted him inside the Denny’s at 1750 Cedar St. in Fremont. The group said its decoy had posed as a teenage boy online and arranged to meet him at the restaurant. No actual minor was involved; the purported teen was an adult member of the group.
Video of the confrontation spread rapidly on social media. Fremont police and Sandusky County detectives investigated and filed the charge. Callahan appeared by video at his March 13 arraignment, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $5,000 surety bond with a condition barring contact with any minor.
Prosecutors amended the charge on March 25, moving it from a provision covering solicitation of a child under 13 to one covering ages 13 through 15. Court records list the complaining officer as Fremont police Det. Sgt. M. Ranazzi.
Through the spring, Assistant Prosecutor Dawn M. Haar twice extended a plea offer that court entries described as contingent on review of evidentiary and electronic evidence issues. No plea was ever entered.
The chief warned about this in March
Fremont Police Chief Derek Wensinger raised the evidentiary risk of civilian sting operations within days of the arrest. Describing the protocols officers follow that civilian groups do not, he told WTOL that trained investigators work without “the evidentiary issues that we have when an online vigilante group does it.”
In a written statement at the time, the department said the group operates outside the parameters of lawful investigations, while noting it had agreed to turn over videos and chat logs to help corroborate the allegations.
Fremont was the group’s 52nd operation and the first anywhere to produce a criminal charge, 13abc reported in March. Group founder Joshua Mundy, who drew close to 200 people to the restaurant that night, acknowledged at the time that assembling that crowd “probably isn’t the best thing legally to do,” but said it sent a message. He described the arrest as giving his group legitimacy and said he planned to continue the work.
That first charge is now gone, and the court record attributes the evidentiary collapse to the group that generated it.
Callahan asks for the coverage to come down
Callahan emailed TiffinOhio.net on Monday, Aug. 3, asking the outlet to remove its coverage or publish an update. He wrote that the case had been “fully resolved in court” and asked that TiffinOhio.net “remove the outdated article and video from your website and social media platforms, or alternatively, publish an immediate update reflecting the dismissal of this case.”
He also wrote that “the court found that the actions leading to the arrest constituted a clear case of no evidence presented, and a judge subsequently threw out the case.”
The court record does not support that description. The judge did not throw out the case; the city prosecutor moved to dismiss it, and the court granted the state’s own motion. The court made no finding that no evidence existed, and the one evidentiary motion Callahan filed and pursued was denied. Callahan’s letter does not mention that the dismissal was without prejudice, though the judgment entry he attached to it says so.
TiffinOhio.net does not remove accurate reporting on public court proceedings. This article is published in full, and update notices linking to it have been added to the outlet’s three earlier stories on the case.
FREMONT, Ohio — The attempted importuning case against a Tiffin man arrested in March after a vigilante group’s viral confrontation at a Fremont Denny’s has been dismissed, eight days after prosecutors and defense attorneys jointly told the court that the group destroyed evidence in the case. Fremont Prosecuting Attorney and Law Director Jim Melle moved to dismiss the charge against Ronald E. Callahan, 69, on Wednesday, July 29. Judge Daniel L. Brudzinski granted the motion the following day. The dismissal is without prejudice, meaning the state may refile the charge. Costs were assessed to the state, and the $5,000 surety bond Callahan posted in March was released Friday, July 31. The judgment entry gives no reasoning beyond the standard formulation that the case was dismissed “for good cause shown and upon motion of the state.” Neither the motion nor the entry states why the state sought dismissal. Both sides told the court the group destroyed evidence On Tuesday, July 21, Melle and defense attorney John M. Kahler II filed a joint set of stipulations alongside a defense motion to compel compliance. The court took up that filing a week later. In a journal entry dated Tuesday, July 28, the court wrote that the parties represented “that the group Dads Against Predators (DAP) destroyed evidence for use by prosecuting attorney & material to preparation of defense.” The wording is significant in both directions. The evidence the parties described as destroyed was material to the state’s ability to prove the charge and to Callahan’s ability to defend against it. The court record does not describe what the evidence was, when it was destroyed, or under what circumstances. Based on those stipulations, the court denied Callahan’s motion to compel — the only evidentiary ruling issued in the case, and one that went against him. The same day, Kahler withdrew a motion to suppress evidence and a motion in limine he had filed June 1, and a suppression hearing scheduled for that afternoon was vacated. The state’s dismissal motion followed the next day. What the dismissal does and does not mean A dismissal without prejudice is not an acquittal and carries no finding on the merits. No judge or jury weighed the allegations against Callahan, and he was not convicted of anything. The charge remains available to prosecutors to refile. The charge itself was a first degree misdemeanor, according to the court’s case record — the most serious misdemeanor level in Ohio, punishable by up to 180 days in jail. Under Ohio law an attempted offense is graded one degree below the completed offense, and completed importuning under the provision Callahan was charged with is a fifth degree felony. How the case began Callahan was arrested March 12, a day after members of Dads Against Predators confronted him inside the Denny’s at 1750 Cedar St. in Fremont. The group said its decoy had posed as a teenage boy online and arranged to meet him at the restaurant. No actual minor was involved; the purported teen was an adult member of the group. Video of the confrontation spread rapidly on social media. Fremont police and Sandusky County detectives investigated and filed the charge. Callahan appeared by video at his March 13 arraignment, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $5,000 surety bond with a condition barring contact with any minor. Prosecutors amended the charge on March 25, moving it from a provision covering solicitation of a child under 13 to one covering ages 13 through 15. Court records list the complaining officer as Fremont police Det. Sgt. M. Ranazzi. Through the spring, Assistant Prosecutor Dawn M. Haar twice extended a plea offer that court entries described as contingent on review of evidentiary and electronic evidence issues. No plea was ever entered. The chief warned about this in March Fremont Police Chief Derek Wensinger raised the evidentiary risk of civilian sting operations within days of the arrest. Describing the protocols officers follow that civilian groups do not, he told WTOL that trained investigators work without “the evidentiary issues that we have when an online vigilante group does it.” In a written statement at the time, the department said the group operates outside the parameters of lawful investigations, while noting it had agreed to turn over videos and chat logs to help corroborate the allegations. Fremont was the group’s 52nd operation and the first anywhere to produce a criminal charge, 13abc reported in March. Group founder Joshua Mundy, who drew close to 200 people to the restaurant that night, acknowledged at the time that assembling that crowd “probably isn’t the best thing legally to do,” but said it sent a message. He described the arrest as giving his group legitimacy and said he planned to continue the work. That first charge is now gone, and the court record attributes the evidentiary collapse to the group that generated it. Callahan asks for the coverage to come down Callahan emailed TiffinOhio.net on Monday, Aug. 3, asking the outlet to remove its coverage or publish an update. He wrote that the case had been “fully resolved in court” and asked that TiffinOhio.net “remove the outdated article and video from your website and social media platforms, or alternatively, publish an immediate update reflecting the dismissal of this case.” He also wrote that “the court found that the actions leading to the arrest constituted a clear case of no evidence presented, and a judge subsequently threw out the case.” The court record does not support that description. The judge did not throw out the case; the city prosecutor moved to dismiss it, and the court granted the state’s own motion. The court made no finding that no evidence existed, and the one evidentiary motion Callahan filed and pursued was denied. Callahan’s letter does not mention that the dismissal was without prejudice, though the judgment entry he attached to it says so. TiffinOhio.net does not remove accurate reporting on public court proceedings. This article is published in full, and update notices linking to it have been added to the outlet’s three earlier stories on the case.
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