Suspect admits to taking the lewd photos, and to having done it before.


MENTOR -- A Mentor man has been arraigned after admitting to taking pictures up the skirt of a 13-year-old girl while at a Target store.

The incident happened around 12:45 p.m. at the Target on Mentor Avenue on Sunday.

The girl was shopping with her mother, when her mother turned around to find a 24-year-old man using his cell phone to take a picture up her young daughters skirt.

The man was later identified as Ryan Ward of Mentor.

The mother ran through the store looking for help, as the suspect tried to flee.

According to police, another customer tried to stop Ward, but he made it to his car and drove away.

Witnesses were able to get a license plate number, and police quickly arrested Ward.

Officers confiscated his phone and booked him into Mentor Jail.

Ward admitted to taking the pictures. He also admitted to taking pictures of other unsuspecting women in public before.

He appeared in court on Tuesday, arraigned on charges of voyeurism, criminal tools, and tampering with evidence, a felony, for trying to delete the photos.

After the arraignment, he was released from jail, after posting 10% of his $50,000 bond.

A preliminary hearing/pre-trial has been scheduled for June 2.

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