Porn Addicted Attorney Indefinitely Suspended In Ohio
An attorney convicted of felony possession of child pornography has been indefinitely suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court without credit for time served since his 2007 interim suspension.
The court described the facts
Over the course of his legal career, Ballato was fired on three separate occasions for using office computers to view internet pornography. He voluntarily enrolled in a six-week residential treatment program for sexual addiction in 2002—although he did not believe that he had a problem at that time—in an effort to save his first marriage. After the marriage ended the following year, he struggled to cope with the divorce and his former wife’s efforts to curtail his visitation with their young son.
Although Ballato participated in some group counseling, he continued to view pornography and remained in denial of his addiction. In 2004, he responded to an online advertisement for “amateur pornography for sale,” and in the course of an e-mail exchange, the seller revealed that the offer was for child pornography. Ballato placed an order and mailed a partial payment for the magazines. Although he testified that he later decided not to complete the transaction, he did not cancel the order. On October 4, 2004, the magazines were delivered by an undercover postal inspector to Ballato’s home while he was at work. Shortly thereafter, federal officers arrived and conducted searches at both his home and office.
The officers found an abundance of adult pornography and three images of child pornography on Ballato’s office computer. At the panel hearing, Ballato testified that he had requested and received the images of child pornography online by instant message. He deleted them shortly after receiving them and reports that he did not use the images for sexual gratification. He reported that his sexual preference is adult women. Although he acknowledged that he developed a curiosity about teenage girls in pornography, he denied having any sexual interest in prepubescent children.
The attorney served 43 months for the ensuing conviction.
He is involved in a twelve step recovery pregram called Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous.
One dissenting justice would grant credit for time served; two would disbar. (Mike Frisch)