Police Can't Confirm Ritter's Arrest (New Detail and Mug Photo)

WNYT-TV, Albany, NY ^ | January 20, 2003 | WNYT Staff

[Shermy]

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.

Police released this mugshot following
the arrest of William Ritter in June 2001.
Lindsay Cohen reports.

COLONIE 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 due to court proceedings.

<....Snip...>

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.<...snip...>

[blackdog]

My favorite mugshot ever, is that one of Larry King being booked on bad check charges in the 70's.

[Catspaw]

The case was sealed because of a plea bargain between the Assistant District Attorney (who failed to tell her boss) and the defense attorney. A town judge approved the sealing of the record. Check out the numerous threads on Ritter for this nugget of information.

[Shermy]

Ganging up on the UN, here's some links to the "2nd Marco Island Rapist", a Saudi guy attached to a UN body advising on police procedures. The child victim was the daughter of another UN connected official, with whom he was friends.

Marco Island Links, the "2nd" guy

[Fred Mertz]

Thanks.

[cyncooper]

I noticed in threads, before this weekend, many posters tending to think mental illness or similar strife was in play with Scott.

This point was mentioned yesterday, too, that the discussion as to why Ritter did his 180 has been much discussed for months now, plus the observation by many that he did not seem stable mentally.

These observatioins were not made in the wake, obviously, of this revelation, and this new information goes a long way in answer to these discussions.

[cyncooper]

Well said.

[RightWingMama]

ROTFLMAO

[BOBTHENAILER]

win win situation

[bvw]

How would Team Clinton handle this? Let's see, Biden visits the Pope. Ritter's arrest comes out. Sounds like a Bush deal to me. Tells the Cinton's -- you all shut that clown Ritter up. What gets Hillary? What's the flip side of the transaction?

[woofie]

Nice shot of Scott but he looks angry....and PETA should be upset that he chose a Burger King

[Williams]

You can forget entrapment. It isn't entrapment unless the defendant had no predisposition to commit the crime. Essentially, if you do it or try to do it, you had a predisposition. For true entrapment you would practically have to hit the guy over the head and put him in the car with the 16 year old. So even if Scott was at first minding his own business and the extremely persuasive "16 year old" pestered him to death to do this, it probably was NOT entrapment.

I have mentioned previously that Ed Meese in "Operation Looking Glass" sent child porn catalogs with legal disclaimers (saying no one under 18 was in any of the materials) to everyone found in a child porn co.'s files. Even liberal judges ruled this was NOT entrapment, and even the disclaimer was of no help because it was not believable compared to the rest of the catalog.

[The South Park Republican]

So THIS is why Ritter agreed to write that book with William Rivers Pitt of DUhhh fame...

Ritter LIKES doing things with 16 year old little girls.

[savedbygrace]

The arrest was in June 2001. When did Ritter turn, before or after June 2001?

[SarahW]

Chances are, this wasn't his first time.

[WVNan]

Can the ADA or the judge be connected to the clintons in any way? Someone has used this or something similar that may have happened in Iraq to blackmail Ritter. Nothing else makes sense.

[woofie]

I had to check that other site (D something)to see how they are coping with this ...its pretty funny

[Catspaw]

Chances are, this wasn't his first time.

Don't know. It may be the first time he got caught acting on his slimy sexual impluses. Of course, if his computer been seized--and with the case sealed, no one knows if it was--there might be a record of where Scott goes when he's on-line.

[Shermy]

When did Ritter turn, before or after June 2001?

Before.

Maybe the Iraqis set him up in Iraq during his earlier visit, and have video.

Strangely, Ritter was kind of hyterical about his wife. While inspecting in Russia in the 1990's he warned about the female Russian translators being KGB plants. Then he married one of them!!!

[woofie]

Why is this not on your website?

[doug from upland]

We dont' have an argument. Certainly he is responsible for what is happening to his family. It doesn't lessen my compassion for his family. In this case, it it is as reported, he talked to a police officer, not a little girl.

If this is the only time he ever did it, if he never talked to a little girl, I would be okay with counseling for him and not jail time. If he had done it before and actually solicited a little girl, he should have been confined.

I am sure that child molestors on the Internet have many attempts before they are ever caught in a sting. It would be highly unlikely to get nailed your first time. We can only wonder if he did this before. Perhaps it was the first time and a tragedy for a young girl was avoided.