A Pike County man was booked into the Scioto County Jail Wednesday afternoon on four serious felony charges involving obscene material and a minor.
According to jail records, Chad Hougland was booked on four counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor under Ohio Revised Code 2907.321(A)(6).
The listed charge references transporting the material across state lines.
Right now, SCDN has not located court documents explaining the circumstances surrounding the arrest. No matching charges were listed on Pike County court dockets at the time of this report.
Hougland appears to currently reside in Pike County.
The Ohio charge listed in the jail record is a serious one.
Under Ohio law, pandering obscenity involving a minor includes bringing or causing to be brought into Ohio obscene material that has a minor or impaired person as one of its participants or portrayed observers.
When the offense involves a minor, a violation of that section is a second-degree felony.
In Ohio, a second-degree felony can carry a prison sentence with a minimum term selected by the court from two to eight years, with the maximum term calculated under Ohio’s indefinite sentencing law. A second-degree felony can also carry a fine of up to $15,000.
Because Hougland is listed as facing four counts, the possible penalty would depend on several factors, including what prosecutors can prove, whether the counts are treated separately, whether any sentence is ordered to run at the same time or one after another, and the final outcome in court.
Ohio law also classifies a violation of ORC 2907.321 as a sexually oriented offense for registration purposes if there is a conviction or guilty plea.
At this point, the public information available only shows the jail booking and the listed charges. It does not explain what investigators allege happened, where the alleged conduct occurred, or what evidence led to the arrest.
SCDN will continue following the case as court documents become available.
Hougland is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
