Wearing blue jail clothing, Rieder said, “Guilty” after each group of counts Huffman read aloud. Rieder also will be considered a Tier III sex offender, but was not fined anything. Rieder waived any rights to a pre-sentencing investigation and proceeded directly to sentencing. Rieder declined to comment before his sentence was announced.
“Sexual abuse of a child, a young boy in this case, is certainly revolting, disgusting and just very troubling,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said. “Investigators found notes, hand-written notes by the defendant Rieder outlining instructions on how to kidnap a young boy for sexual gratification, and how to do this, and how to make plans so they would get away with it — very disturbing.”
Kenneth Brandt, 40, of Troy pleaded guilty to six counts of rape against his two adopted sons and another boy he was adopting in Miami County Common Pleas Court and will serve from 60 years to life in prison. Prosecutors said Brandt pleaded guilty to rape of a child under 13 and will be sentenced to 50 years to life in prison in his Montgomery County Common Pleas case later this month.
Jason Zwick, 30, of Beavercreek pleaded no contest to one count of raping one of Brandt’s sons and was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison. Zwick’s attorney said he plans to appeal.
The cases were brought forward after an Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation found that Zwick allegedly answered Brandt’s Craigslist ad for taboo sex. That led authorities to Rieder, who allegedly had sex with one of the boys at Rieder’s residence in Dayton.
Rieder pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a child younger than 13, 19 counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, five counts of illegal use of a minor in a nudity-oriented material or performance, one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor and one count of possession of criminal tools.
Heck said Brandt’s child was not in the images found in Rieder’s possession. Assistant prosecutor Eric Michener said Brandt and Rieder “had been in contact for years before this incident.”
Rieder’s fate after 25 years will be determined by a parole board, which will decide if and when he gets out of prison.
“We hope that this defendant spends the rest of his natural-born life locked up, out of society, in the penitentiary, for the protection of our society,” Heck said.”We all have a responsibility of working together to protect our children.”
Assistant prosecutor Erin Claypoole said three of the four children in Brandt’s care have been turned over to Miami County Children Services. Authorities said the one child who was not yet adopted was returned to officials in Texas.
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