Defendant in Springboro child enticement case wants jury trial

The Lebanon man accused of trying to lure an 11-year-old girl into his truck in Springboro last week could spend Christmas in jail while awaiting a jury trial.

Anthony W. Ward, 44, pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury trial during a hearing Thursday in Warren County Court.

“We’ll set this for jury trial,” Judge Robert Fischer told Ward during the pretrial hearing on charges of child enticement and aggravated trespassing.

Bond in the case stayed at $40,000, or $4,000 cash, but Ward remained in the county jail while awaiting a parole hearing due to a previous burglary conviction, according to jail records and police.

Public Defender Kelly McKoy said she was not representing Ward on the parole violation. Friday is the last court day before the Christmas weekend.

Ward was arrested on Dec. 14 after police stopped him in the neighborhood on the south side of Springboro, down the street from where he allegedly asked the girl to come with him to his truck after knocking at her door.

According to a police report, the girl slammed the door and quickly told her mother, who saw Ward and another man drive off and called police with a description, including the tattoos framing Ward’s face.

They were pulled over and identified by the girl and her mother.

Police rejected Ward’s explanation that he only asked the girl about plowing their driveway, in part because the sidewalk had already been cleared and the driveway was covered only with ice.

Earlier this week, officers asked for help from area police agencies and the community in identifying other potential cases in which Ward engaged in similar behavior.

On Thursday, police said they had no new information.

If convicted on the new charges, each a first-degree misdemeanor, Ward faces up to six months in jail and $1,000 on each charge.

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