CANON CITY, Colo.—A Fremont County Combined Court judge has denied a motion to postpone the trial of a California man accused of soliciting sex online from a minor.
Canon City police arrested 36-year-old Ward “Ryan” Welty in June in Penrose on accusations that he solicited sex online from a Colorado police officer posing as a mother offering her 9-year-old daughter for sex.
Police say that after a year of correspondence, Welty traveled from his home in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., to rural Fremont County—about 100 miles south of Denver—to visit the fictitious woman and her daughter.
Assistant District Attorney Kathy Eberling said Welty’s attorney had sought to postpone the Colorado trial, set for March 17, so his client could first stand trial in California, where he faces related charges. The request was denied Monday.
The court also ruled that the prosecution can use as evidence a cell phone and package of Viagra that police say they found in Welty’s car.
Welty faces five felony charges in Colorado: attempted sex assault on a child, enticement of a child, Internet luring of a child, Internet sexual exploitation of a child and solicitation to commit sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust.
After his arrest in Colorado, Canon City police contacted sheriff’s detectives in San Bernardino County, Calif., who searched Welty’s home and places of business.
Court records say they found three child pornography images on his computers, and more than $60,000 in steroids that detectives allege Welty was selling.
Welty has since been charged with three felonies in California: possession of child pornography, possession of narcotics for sale and solicitation of a minor to engage in lewd or lascivious behavior.
He remains free after posting bond in both states.
