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I think it important to realize that this happened in 2001, BEFORE the WTC. Why was it important to cover it up then?

Well, I question if the word "cover up" applies, in any serious sense. Presumably, Ritter was a first-time offender. It seems that the alleged offense (proposing a consensual exhibitionist encounter to a soi disante 16-year old Lolita on the Internet) falls well short of pedophilia or statutory rape. The evidence that anything prosecutable actually occured may well have been borderline. That Ritter's lawyer could have got the whole thing quashed doesn't strike me as that extraordinary, on the face of it. That's what lawyers are for.

Many people have been brought down for arranging meetings with "underage" kids/cops. But I thought they usually wait until he shows up for the meeting to sting the guy. Maybe Ritter did and was arrested at the burger king. Because of the emphasis on protecting minors from pedophiles, I'm not sure this one gets expunged as a first time offense. But it is true that states have laws permitting the expungement of many first time offenses, if there is no second offense during a probationary period. I don't consider this gharge to be minor. A 41 year old man wanting to meet a 16 year old for sex is serious. My only question was why don't they make the girl 14 or 15, so as to be more clearly below the age of consent.