A longtime UN weapons inspector who blamed a 2001 sex-sting arrest on his criticism of the Iraq War has again been charged in an online child-sex case, and this time he was caught on camera.
Scott Ritter, 48, of Delmar, New York, engaged in a sexually graphic online chat with an undercover police officer posing as a 15-year-old girl nearly a year ago, police in northeastern Pennsylvania said. He then turned on a Web cam and masturbated on camera, they charged.
Monroe County authorities traced the exchange to Ritter through a cellphone number he provided and confirmed the match through photographs, a police affidavit said. Charges were filed in November and the Pocono Record revealed Ritter’s involvement on Thursday.
Ritter, a 104kg ex-Marine, declined to comment to reporters gathered on Thursday at his home near Albany, New York.
“I told you guys I’m not going to say anything, so please just go away,” he said after answering the door to the home, adorned with a welcome mat that reads “US Marine Corps, The Ritters.”
Ritter, born William Scott Ritter Jr, served as a UN weapons inspector from 1991 to 1998 before resigning. He soon became a harsh critic of the administration of former US president George W. Bush administration’s push toward war with Iraq.
In 2003, he acknowledged in TV news appearances that he had faced online child-sex charges in 2001 in New York, but said they were designed to silence his war criticism. The charges were dismissed.
Ritter waived a Dec. 17 preliminary hearing and is free on US$25,000 bail. He is due in court Feb. 23 for a status hearing and would face trial on March 9 barring any requests for continuance.
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