Ottawa teen sentenced for sexual activity with minors
May 13—OTTAWA — A Putnam County teenager was sentenced Monday to more than six years in prison on felony charges ranging from spiking the beverage of a corrections officer at the Putnam County jail to having nude photos of minors in his possession and engaging in sexual conduct with underage females.
Garrett Schroeder, 19, appeared Monday in Putnam County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty last month to charges in three separate cases.
Schroeder's experience in the adult judicial system began in April 2023 when he was charged with assault for putting red pepper into a beverage of a corrections officer at the Putnam County jail while incarcerated on an unrelated charge. The corrections officer reportedly suffered an anaphylactic shock as a result of that incident, which resulted in the assault charge.
Schroeder was subsequently placed on community control but was indicted in January for violating the terms of his release by having nude photos of an underage female on his phone. As part of a deal with prosecutors, Schroeder pleaded guilty to an amended third-degree felony charge of the attempted illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance.
He also pleaded guilty to five additional sex charges handed down by a grand jury in March, including a fourth-degree felony charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fifth-degree felony count of the illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented materials and misdemeanor counts of the unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and stalking.
Schroeder allegedly had photographed a 15-year-old female in a state of nudity last September. Pornographic images were allegedly located on Schroeder's computer, including photos of the girl. The Ottawa teen admitted having sexual relations with a girl he knew to be 15 years old girl and taking nude photos of that female.
Speaking at Monday's sentencing hearing was a representative of Crime Victim Services, who read a statement from Dan Brown, the jailer who fell victim to Schroeder's prank.
Brown in his statement said Schroeder has "not been held fully accountable" for any of his actions. The officer said the impact of Schroeder's actions has been substantial to himself and the other victims and urged the teenager "be held fully accountable."
Defense attorney Austin Buchholz said his client "admits he was wrong, and even though there was a consensual component (to the sex crimes) he wants to turn his life around and become a more productive member of the community."
Schroeder apologized for his actions but otherwise had little to say during the hearing.
Putnam County Common Pleas Court Judge Keith Schierloh said the Ottawa man "has shown no remorse ... zero" throughout several court proceedings and promptly sentenced Schroeder to 75 months in prison.
He was labeled a Tier II sex offender and will be required to register with authorities every 180 days for the next 25 years.
