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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- An investigation into reports of a man entering the women's restroom at the Interstate 70 rest stop and obtaining inappropriate photographs has led to the arrest of a Martins Ferry man.
James Dean Booth, 39, of Martins Ferry is being held in the Belmont County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond after his arrest Wednesday for five felony counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor. Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas said this was a joint operation involving the sheriff's office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
"(It began with) allegations of this individual going into the restrooms of the rest stops on Interstate 70 in Belmont County. From that investigation and doing a search warrant on the subject phone, (officers) found that he was in possession of child pornography," Lucas said. "(Wednesday) my detectives in the sheriff's office, along with the state highway patrol and assisted by the Martins Ferry Police Department, we served a search warrant on his residence in Martins Ferry. From that, a lot of electronic, computerized equipment was recovered from there and will be processed by our state lab."
Lucas added that investigators also believe Booth was involved in an incident in Wheeling that remains under investigation.
"Plus, we believe that other things that was found at the scene, once they're processed, there'll be more charges forthcoming down the road. This is just the beginning phase of this. I think it's going to escalate into more," he said.
Lucas would not comment about the method Booth allegedly used to obtain photos from the rest area restrooms or how many people might have been affected.
"At this time, no other details will be released," he said. "It's still a fluid, ongoing investigation. But the information that was received from the complaints of what he was doing at the restroom is what prompted the investigation."
Lucas said law enforcement is looking into more incidents allegedly involving Booth and inappropriate conduct at other public locations.
"It was decided we needed to get this person off the street, and that's what we did. Our investigation will continue, the joint effort of all of us to make sure we have a very thorough and complete investigation," Lucas said. "We were able, at this time, on these charges … (to) put him in jail for the safety of our community."
Sheriff's Chief Detective Ryan Allar said the sheriff's department was brought onto the case by patrol, and the agencies eventually brought Martins Ferry police on board for a three-way partnership.
The highway patrol "began an investigation. They called us in to assist them with the sexual aspect of the case, and we worked it together. Once it got into Martins Ferry jurisdiction, we contacted Martins Ferry PD, and they were present and helped us out with the search warrant today," Allar said. "This was a true partnership. The state patrol did an insane amount of work on this."
"Everybody did a terrific job in the investigation," Lucas said, adding that law enforcement depends on receiving information from the public.
He added that investigators are reaching out for more information.
"If you see something, say something," Lucas said. "If you see an individual doing someone doing something you think is not right, or ethical or immoral, it doesn't hurt to give us a call and we'll check it out. If information wasn't forwarded to the state highway patrol … we wouldn't know."
"If there's anybody else out there that's crossed paths with him or had an incident with him, call the Belmont County Sheriff's Office at our number, 740-695-7933 (and ask for) Detective Sgt. Doug Cruse."