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Update: Kharabe Pleads Not Guilty To 12 Counts, Is Released On Own Recognizance
By: Kendra Wagoner, WOUB Staff Writer
Posted on:
UPDATE 3:00 p.m. Athens County prosecutor Keller Blackburn issued a release stating that Kharabe pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, nine of which were for pandering obscenity involving a minor, which is a second-degree felony.
Here is the full release:
Keller Blackburn Release On Amol Kharabe
UPDATE 2:15 p.m. Dr. Amol Kharabe appeared in Athens County Common Pleas Court Thursday on charges of pandering obscenity. According to Susan Tebben of the Athens Messenger, bond was set at $50,000 and Kharabe was released on his own recognizance.
A $50,000 bond was set for Kharabe. He will be released on his own recognizance.
— Susan Tebben (@SusanTmessenger) February 13, 2014
An Ohio University professor was arrested Monday evening on child pornography charges.
College of Business professor Dr. Amol Kharabe was arrested at his home in Dublin after police issued a search warrant.
Police say he is accused of accessing child pornography through the university's network.
Kharabe, 41, lives and works part of the week at OU, but has a home in Dublin where he lives with his wife and children.
Athens Police first executed a search warrant on his Richland Ave. apartment in the fall.
Andres Castillo, a senior studying Marketing and Management Information Systems, and former student of Kharabe, says the news was shocking.
"We found out last night," Castillo said. "We were actually in the Copeland Labs which is the College of Business and most of the MIS seniors have had him at one point in their career. It's very shocking because he was a very personable guy. A family guy too and a very professional business person."
Ohio University announced that they are aware of the arrest and have placed Kharabe on paid administrative leave at this time.
The professor teaches three Management Information Systems classes at Ohio University this Spring that will be taken over by faculty member Ralph Riedel.
Kharabe is currently being held at a Franklin County Correctional facility in Columbus.
An earlier version of the story reported that Kharabe accessed the material on the university's website. That is incorrect. He accessed it through the university's network.