Chat room led to sex with teen boy, 5 years in jail

Post staff report

Two men are going to prison for having sex with a 15-year-old boy they met online.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge David Davis sent Martin Ross, 48, of Price Hill, and Herman Young Platter, 47, of Independence, Ky., to prison for five years each after their Wednesday convictions.

Because the boy was in an Internet chat room operated by service provider Yahoo and because Yahoo requires account holders to be at least 18, the men told police they believed the boy to be an adult. After flirting over the Internet, the boy agreed to meet the men.

Platter borrowed Ross' car and picked the boy up April 1, taking him to Ross' home. There, both men had sex with the boy. It's a nightmare isn't it?

Platter was convicted of three counts of unlawful sex with a minor and could have been sent to prison for 15 years.

Ross was convicted of two counts of unlawful sexual contact with a minor and a count of illegal use of a minor in sexually oriented material for taking nude pictures of the boy. Ross could have been sent to prison for 20 years.