Caden Webster will be sentenced Dec. 2 after pleading guilty on Tuesday to single counts of importuning and gross sexual imposition, third- and fourth-degree felonies. Webster was originally indicted on five counts of rape and 13 counts of gross sexual imposition for alleged sexual activity with an underage female.
J Swygart | The Lima News
OTTAWA — A 22-year-old man charged with five counts of rape and other sex-related offenses against an underage female more than six years ago pleaded guilty Tuesday to drastically-reduced charges in Putnam County Common Pleas Court.
Caden Webster was indicted by a Putnam County grand jury in April on 13 sex-related charges for illegal sexual conduct with the young woman which started in January of 2014 and continued through September of 2018. During that time he was alleged to have repeatedly performed oral sex on the girl, who was 9 years of age when the incidents started, and also engaged in other forms of sexual activities with her.
Webster was 15 years of age when the illicit activities began, according to the original indictment.
He was indicted on five counts of first-degree felony rape and eight counts of gross sexual imposition, felonies of the third degree. Those charges were all dismissed as part of a negotiated plea deal that was finalized Tuesday.
Putnam County Prosecutor Gary Lammers said the indictment against Webster would be dropped in exchange for his plea of guilty to two charges contained in a Bill of Information that was drafted earlier that morning. Charges contained in the bill included importuning, a third-degree felony, and gross sexual imposition, a felony of the fourth degree. Webster through his guilty pleas acknowledged that he did “recklessly solicit” the victim to engage in sexual activity.
Listed in court documents as residing in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Webster told Judge Keith Schierloh the incidents took place while he was living at a rural Columbus Grove address, where he engaged in “inappropriate touching and sexual activity” with the girl identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
Lammers said the plea deal offered to Webster came with the approval of the victim, whom the prosecutor said had been involved in deliberations throughout the case.
Webster faces a maximum prison term of 54 months when he is sentenced in December. He is more likely to avoid prison altogether as Schierloh noted the statutes under which Webster is charged carry no presumption of prison time. If prison time is ordered, Webster would be eligible to apply for a judicial release.
He will be labeled a Tier I sex offender and, as such, will be required to register with local authorities annually for 15 years.
