The Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office on Sunday arrested a convicted sex offender who is suspected of illegally taking photographs of young boys while at local swim meets.
According to a police report, a deputy was dispatched to the Spire Sports Center Complex and Academy in Harpersfield Township for a report of an elderly man taking photos of the meet being held for boys ages 14 and under. Staff members had given him permission to take the pictures with his professional equipment, but only in a selected area, and became "suspicious" when his answers to their questions "didn't make sense."
The deputy claimed he saw the photographer—later identified as 69-year-old Jim Renick, of Indianapolis—taking pictures of the children in the restricted area, and asked to speak with him. Renick apparently appeared "very nervous" and struggled to remove SD cards from his camera as his hands shook. His story changed "multiple" times, first saying he was there to photograph a friend's child and then saying he was an amateur photographer at the even to take pictures.
After the deputy told him he "didn't believe a word he was saying," Renick began to leave, and denied he was a sex offender when asked. The deputy continued to follow Renick to his car, and after receiving a driver's license it was discovered Renick was indeed a registered sex offender "for life." It was then that Renick admitted to serving six years in prison for molesting two boys, and was not allowed to be around children, parks, or schools, although he did not know if he was allowed to be at the Spire Center.
Renick then handed over his camera and SD cards, where the deputy discovered multiple photos of children in the restricted diving area, as well as images of boys playing basketball at a playground and another of a shirtless young boy. Renick was then arrested for obstructing justice after allegedly lying to the cop, and was booked in the Ashtabula County Jail.
It was later discovered that Jim Renick was once a television news reporter for WNEP Channel 16 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in 1995 was arrested for molesting a 12-year-old boy and "taking sexually suggestive photographs" of others. Authorities allegedly found over 500 illegal images, used boys swimming trunks, and sex toys at his residence back then, and he later pleaded guilty in the case. He was back in jail for a period of time roughly 20 years later on a parole violation, and has also been spotted at events at Cleveland State University and Canton.
Officials have not stated whether Renick will face additional charges.
