A motion to withdraw by the defense attorney in the case of a Vandalia man charged with 10 counts of child pornography has been denied. 36-year old Ryan J. Koontz made an appearance in Fayette County Court on Wednesday for a motion hearing. Following Koontz’s no-show for his scheduled jury trial, defense attorney Shin Cho filed a motion to withdraw. That motion was discussed on Wednesday with Judge Don Sheafor questioning both Koontz and Cho as to the reason for the breakdown between them. After hearing both responses, Sheafor stated that the case has been going on since 2014 and there have already been multiple attorneys in the case and he felt Cho would deliver his best defense for Koontz and therefore denied the motion to withdraw. Jury trial has now been set once again for July 24th at 8:30am with a pre-trial scheduled for June 27 at 1pm. Koontz is charged with 8 counts of possession of child pornography, which are Class 2 felonies and punishable by 3-7 years in prison, and 2 counts of reproducing or disseminating child pornography of a child reasonably known to be under 13 years of age, which are punishable by 6-30 years in prison. Koontz remains in the Fayette County Jail as his bond on the case has been revoked.
