Former Shawnee teacher and coach found guilty on sex charges

LIMA — A former Shawnee teacher and soccer coach has been found guilty on all charges in a case involving online communications with a 16-year-old girl.

An Allen County jury returned the guilty verdicts Wednesday against 42-year-old Ryan Quatman. The convictions include felony charges of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.

According to court documents, Quatman began communicating with the Utah teenager after meeting her on the online chat platform Omegle. The conversations took place between Feb. 28 and March 3, 2023, before moving to FaceTime and text messages.

During closing arguments, the Lima News reported Allen County prosecutor Kyle Thines said Shawnee key-fob records showed Quatman entered the school shortly before pornographic materials were allegedly sent to the teenager. Prosecutors said each dissemination charge involved a separate image.

Defense attorney Kenneth Rexford argued Quatman did not know the girl was a minor. Rexford cited the age-verification process used by some websites and questioned whether the language in the messages was consistent with that of a teenage girl.

Prosecutors countered that Quatman either knew the girl’s age or acted recklessly by failing to determine it. Thines also argued that text messages between the two showed Quatman steered the conversations toward sexual topics.

The jury deliberated before returning guilty verdicts on all counts.

Quatman is scheduled to be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 4, in Allen County Common Pleas Court. His bond was set at $200,000.