Indiana man gets 30 months probation for video recording female juvenile

An Indiana man will serve 30 months of sex offender probation after he pleaded guilty to making a video recording of a female minor at his home.

Judge Dave Carlson sentenced Richard Buss, 37, of the 2100 block of West 93rd Place in Crown Point to 30 months probation on June 19 and presented the paperwork Friday for the sentence that requires Buss to complete sex offender evaluation. Carlson ordered Buss to comply with the recommendations of the evaluation.

Buss does not have to register as a sex offender because unauthorized video recording of a minor is not a sex offense under state law.

Carlson said he considered Buss’ crime a sex offense and he hoped his sentence “prevents this from happening again.”

“I’ve got my hooks in you and if there is so much as a hiccup, I’m going to send you to the penitentiary,” Carlson said to Buss on Friday.

On July 24, Buss made a video recording of a female minor while she was in the bathroom of his former residence in Channahon, according to court records. On Aug. 26, Buss' wife filed for divorce. He was arrested and taken to jail the next day.

Buss' attorney, Ryan Kosztya, has said his client made a determination that he would accept responsibility for the unauthorized video recording charge.

In 2018, Ryan Thompson, 30, of Joliet also pleaded guilty to unauthorized video recording of minors. Thompson worked as a school janitor and made videos of female minors in a locker room, according to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Carlson sentenced Thompson to 30 months of sex offender probation.