Suspended lawyer, a convicted sex offender, must vacate home near school, prosecutors say
Prosecutors are asking an Ohio judge to order a lawyer who pleaded guilty in a child porn case to move out of his home near an elementary school in a Columbus suburb.
The lawyer, William Bernard Feldman, was suspended (PDF) by the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Legal Profession Blog reports. He was first admitted to practice in 1973 and was on inactive status.
Prosecutors sought a court order last month to force Feldman to move out of his home in Upper Arlington after he pleaded guilty to one count of pandering sexually oriented material involving a juvenile, report the Columbus Dispatch and the Upper Arlington News. The charge stems from child pornography found on his computer during a search of his home.
Feldman was sentenced to three years of probation and barred from Internet access. He will have to register as a sex offender for the next 25 years.
Ohio and Upper Arlington laws bar certain convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, according to the Upper Arlington News. The city also bars sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of licensed daycare centers, preschools, public parks, swimming pools, libraries or playgrounds.
Feldman’s lawyer, Eric Hoffman, spoke with the Upper Arlington News on March 10. He said he believes Feldman will eventually move but his client needs time to make the arrangements. The Columbus Dispatch story, published on Wednesday, cites records showing that Feldman had not been located to be served with the court filing.
