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Albany/Schenectady, NY
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Police can't confirm Ritter's arrest
Controversy surrounds former weapons inspector
Jan. 20 -- Police released this mugshot following the arrest of William Ritter in June 2001. Lindsay Cohen reports.
ALBANY, NY, Jan. 20 - Scott Ritter of Delmar is well known internationally as an outspoken, former U.N. weapons inspector. Now more information is coming to light about Ritter's past and a disturbing arrest.
More stories from NewsChannel 13
By Lindsay CohenCOLONIE POLICE CANNOT comment on whether or not they actually arrested Ritter on charges he solicited an underage girl over the Internet. They say this is because if an arrest was made, it was sealed during court proceedings.
"Well generally speaking, if during the course of a court proceeding the defense asks for a sealing order based on a plea to a very lesser charge, a court can issue that under the CPL 160-50, which basically seals the entire record from the point of its start to the point of its finish," Deputy Police Chief Steve Heider explained.
The Daily Gazette first reported over the weekend that Ritter -- whose full name is William Scott Ritter -- was arrested in June 2001.
The New York Daily News further reported that Ritter's arrest was part of an Internet sting. The report said he was arrested for having sexual discussions over the Internet with a person he thought was an underage girl. This individual turned out to be an undercover police officer.
Both reports say that Ritter later struck a deal with Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Preiser that allowed the case to be dismissed and the records sealed. The reports also say Preiser was fired on Friday for failing to inform Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne of the case.
However, NewsChannel 13 reported in June 2001 about an arrest of a 39-year-old William Ritter of Delmar on charges he tried to lure a 16-year-old girl he met on the Internet to a Burger King in Menands. According to police, the intent of that meeting was so that she could watch him perform sexual acts on himself.
At that time police said William Ritter was arrested before doing anything, but was facing multiple misdemeanor charges for trying to solicit an underage girl for sexual reasons.
Ritter's attorney, Norah Murphy, confirmed that he was arrested in the town of Colonie in June 2001.
Ritter has not returned calls for comment. His wife told NewsChannel 13 on Sunday that she had no comment on these charges.
