Child porn conviction upheld

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A three-judge panel of the 7th District Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld the conviction and sentence imposed on a man who pleaded guilty as charged to 100 counts of offenses involving minors and sexually oriented images found on a flash drive.

A 16-year prison term and a $15,000 fine were imposed on William L. McCants, 46, of Garfield Avenue, in January 2013 by Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. McCants was indicted in June 2010.

In its Friday decision, the appeals panel rejected McCants’ argument that his lawyer, Ross Smith, ineffectively represented him because Smith didn’t file a motion to exclude the flash drive from evidence.

“Counsel was not deficient for failing to file a motion to suppress the flash drive because it was voluntarily turned over to police by McCants’ wife,” the panel ruled.

“McCants entered his plea knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily,” the appeals panel concluded.

McCants is scheduled for release from the Belmont Correctional Institution in April 2026, and he must pay his fine during his five years of supervised release.