Ex-MC instructor sentenced for taping children in bathroom

By Brad Bauer, bbauer@mariettatimes.com
CALDWELL—A former Marietta College instructor accused of videotaping children going to the bathroom at his home was sentenced Monday to complete a six-month program at a community-based correctional facility.

Upon completion of the programming, which includes 100 hours of community service, Todd Foraker, 39, of Caldwell, will be placed on five years probation and must register as a sex offender for the next 25 years.

Also, Foraker cannot have any contact with his victims, Judge Dan Favreau ordered.

In March, Foraker pleaded no contest to a third-degree felony charge of attempted illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, a charge amended from a less serious fifth-degree felony charge.

In exchange for the plea, two other charges against Foraker were dropped.

On the third-degree felony conviction, Foraker faced up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Favreau asked Foraker if he had anything to say before sentencing was imposed.

“I don’t know,” Foraker said. “I guess, no.”

Favreau, a Morgan County judge asked to fill in on the case for Noble County Judge Jon Nau, said he determined a prison term was not required in the case. He said programming at the community-based correction facility in Wintersville should take about six months.

According to the Ohio Department of Corrections, some felony offenders can be sentenced to a community- based correctional facility in lieu of state prison commitments. Programming includes substance abuse treatment, job training, educational services, cognitive skills and a required completion of community service, according to a state Web site.

Noble County Sheriff Landon Smith has said Foraker set up a video camera in his bathroom and recorded children ranging in age from 9 to 13. According to court records, the taping took place from Jan. 1, 2002, until Feb. 28, 2007.

“This is an extremely unusual case to say the very least,” Favreau said during the sentencing.

Many neighborhood children visited Foraker’s home to watch TV or play video games or pool, said Smith.

The sheriff’s office was alerted to the camera after a child noticed it and told a friend who reported it to a school official, he said.

Foraker, who has been out on a personal recognizance bond, said little during the hearing.

Foraker is no longer an employee of Marietta College, where he had worked as an instructor and athletic trainer from 1991 to 1994 and again from 1999 until last year, when he was placed on unpaid leave during the criminal investigation.

Director of College Relations Tom Perry said the college had no official statement on the matter.