BOARDMAN Cops raid home in kid-porn probe

A Columbus-area pediatrician charged in the porn probe was ordered to stay away from children.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
BOARDMAN -- Accountant Philip R. Carlon's upscale home on Eagle Trace was among the dozen statewide that were searched this week by federal agents investigating global Internet child pornography.
Agents executed search warrants and seized computers, books, videotapes and video equipment at 12 locations, said Special Agent Tony Macisco of U.S. Customs in Cleveland.
Carlon has not been charged.
His wife, Barbara, said today that she's very upset, "since we did nothing -- it's all a mistake." She declined to comment further, referring questions to their lawyer.
The Carlons' Canfield lawyer, Joseph W. Gardner, said today that he obtained the affidavits used for the search warrants and some, possibly not all, of the search warrant returns. He said he found nothing to indicate pornography was confiscated.
Gardner said investigators took three of Carlon's computers, disks and so forth. Carlon, the lawyer said, has said he did nothing wrong.
His positions
Carlon is a principal in Hill Barth & amp; King, an accounting firm on Market Street, according to its Web site. Carlon's r & eacute;sum & eacute; lists him as treasurer of the Austintown Rotary Club and treasurer of the Boys & amp; Girls Club of Youngstown.
Federal law defines child pornography as the visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Anyone who possesses, trades, sells, imports, exports or produces child pornography may be in violation of the law. It is a federal crime to travel across foreign or state lines for the purpose of engaging in any sexual activity with a child.
The U.S. Customs Service estimates that in 50 percent of their investigations involving child pornography the suspects have also engaged in some form of child molestation.
Doctor arrested
Dr. John Hostler, 50, of Upper Arlington, a Columbus pediatrician, was the first Ohioan arrested Wednesday in the investigation of the global Internet child-pornography operation, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Solove.
Hostler, charged with possessing child pornography, was released on his own recognizance by a U.S. magistrate, who ordered him not to work with children.
Investigators had urged that Hostler be arrested immediately because his work puts him in contact with children, Solove said.
"His profession made a difference," she added.
Fred Alverson, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Gregory Lockhart, said CDs that have images showing minors participating in sex acts were taken from Hostler's home.
Hostler refused to comment.
Other raids
Also raided was the home of Fremont City Council President Kenneth Schneider, said Fremont police detective T.J. Woolf. He and two other detectives helped federal agents execute the search warrant at Schneider's home.
Schneider had not been charged or arrested. He is the Democratic candidate for Sandusky County commissioner in the Nov. 5 election. Calls seeking comment were left at his home Tuesday and Wednesday.
Aside from Boardman and Fremont, federal agents conducted raids in Northfield, Hudson, Ontario, Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Loudonville, Columbus, Canal Winchester, Scio and Vincent.
In addition to prohibiting Hostler from returning to work, U.S. Magistrate Terence Kemp ordered him to have no computer equipment and refrain from accessing the Internet. Hostler also agreed to resume mental-health counseling. His attorney, Tom Tyack, said Hostler had received counseling after his wife's death in 1991.
Hostler and his partners at Central Ohio Newborn Medicine in Columbus agreed Wednesday that he would no longer work there, said Craig Anderson, president of the practice.
Hostler and six other doctors saw patients at Children's Hospital, Grant Medical Center and Mount Carmel West, caring for premature babies and newborns with special needs. They do not see patients in an office, Anderson said.
"I'm almost speechless," he said. "He's an excellent physician, very knowledgeable and experienced."
Grant and Children's Hospital representatives said Hostler's privileges to work at the hospitals had been suspended pending the investigation. A Mount Carmel West spokeswoman said Hostler would no longer work there.