Ashtabula man sentenced in pandering obscenity case

JEFFERSON — An Ashtabula man was sentenced to 18-19.5 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to six counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, according a release from Ashtabula Police Detective Lt. Mike Palinkas.

Palinkas said the case started in 2023 when the department conducted an investigation after receiving multiple cyber tips from the Internet Crimes Against Children Data Systems.

“This resulted in the execution of a search warrant at the target address. During the investigation, Zachery Taylor, a 34-year-old male from Ashtabula, was identified as the suspect and during an interview admitted to downloading and disseminating sexually oriented images of minors,” Palinkas said.

According to the release, the Ashtabula Police Department commends Det. Lt. Wesley Burns for his investigation in the case.

Court records indicate Taylor was indicte Dec. 19, 2024 on the six counts of pandering obscenity, as well as other charges. In January, a psychiatric evaluation was ordered, and the results were presented to the court Feb. 13.

A hearing to determine if Taylor was competent to stand trial took place Feb. 23 and the results presented in a Feb. 25 entry in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court records.

“The court hereby finds that the defendant understands the nature and the nature of the proceedings against him, that he is capable of assisting in his defense, and at the time of the offenses charged, he was aware of the wrongfulness of his acts,” the judgment entry from Sezon states in court records.