Former Dayton Children’s doctor charged with 145 felonies pleads not guilty, will bond out of jail

BEAVERCREEK — UPDATE @2:15 p.m.

Attorneys for Dr. Gregory Ramey  have entered not guilty pleas on all charges m on his behalf.

Ramey appeared via video for his arraignment Friday afternoon.

FIRST REPORT

A former Dayton Children’s child psychologist charged with 145 felonies related to child porn will be bonding out of jail and will be home with his family tonight, his attorney Jon Paul Rion told News Center 7’s Molly Koweek.

Dr. Gregory Ramey was indicted on the charges Thursday and turned himself in to the Greene County Jail.

“This egregious abuse of the patients’ trust, not to mention the publics’ trust, from a doctor is gut-wrenchingly horrible,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “Young children are innocent, sweet and trusting – vulnerably fragile and in need of special protection.”

Ramey, 70, of Beavercreek, was identified as the source of electronic downloads of child pornography, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

The charges include:

• Counts 1-90: Illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material
• Counts 91-117: Pandering obscenity involving a minor
• Counts 118-142: Attempted pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor
• Counts 143-145: Tampering with evidence

If convicted as charged, Yost says Ramey could be put in prison for the rest of his life.

“We certainly have everything we need for this indictment and that should be enough to make sure that he stays away for a good long time,” Yost told News Center 7.

Rion told News Center 7’s Molly Koweek the photos in question are provocative, but not pornography.

“Greg Ramey is actually innocent of all these charges,” Rion said.

The indictment covers 90 images representing at least 40 children under the age of 10, Yost said.

“These are not post pubescent children that there might be some mistake about,” the Ohio Attorney General said.

None of the children in the images are Ramey’s patients.

The crimes are said to have happened between January 2012 and July 2019.

Ramey’s activity was reported to the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which notified local authorities, the attorney general’s office said.

Ramey’s employer, Dayton Children’s Hospital, was made aware of the investigation, immediately placed him on administrative leave and then terminated him.

“I wish more organizations had the courage in the face of very specific and damning evidence to take decisive action rather than duck behind unending administrative leave,” Yost said.  “They did the right thing.”

Dayton Children’s Hospital released a statement Thursday following Ramey’s indictment.

“In his professional role, Dr. Ramey was an advocate for children’s mental wellness and frequent speaker on issues of child endangerment and exploitation,” Dayton Children’s said. “Therefore, we were blindsided by the allegations of inappropriate behavior in his personal life. Nothing in the performance of his professional role created any suspicions. We are shocked and deeply troubled by these allegations, which are in stark contrast to our mission and core values.”

Ramey’s license to practice psychology in Ohio is still active, but that status could change.

“We are aware of the indictment and his incarceration, and we are identifying the options available to the Board under these circumstances,” said Ohio Board of Psychology Executive Director Ronald Ross.

Ramey started at Dayton Children’s in 1979. The well-known pediatric psychologist was one of the public faces of Dayton Children’s, writing a weekly parenting column in the Dayton Daily News that was distributed on the New York Times wire service, and making frequent appearances in local and outside media.