Ex-cop sentenced for seeking sex from teenager

YOUNGSTOWN

Robert Lodwick said just before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison Wednesday that he became a police officer to help people.

The 14-year-old girl he was supposed to be helping told visiting Judge Thomas Porkony in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that Lodwick was like a father figure to her. But he betrayed her trust when he solicited her for sex and obtained nude pictures of her.

“When you have what happened, it’s just crazy,” the girl told Judge Porkony. “He’s someone you obviously wanted to trust.”

The 41-year-old Lodwick, who was a city police officer for 14 years, was sentenced after pleading guilty May 6 to one count of importuning, one count of pandering obscenity and one count of illegal use of a minor in a nudity-oriented performance.

Read more about the sentence and how the case has affected Lodwick and his family in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.