JANUARY 14--Scott Ritter, the controversial former chief U.N. weapons inspector and fierce Bush administration critic, is facing sexual exploitation of children charges after he was caught in an Internet sting.

According to court records, Ritter, 48, engaged in a sexually explicit online chat with what he thought was a 15-year-old girl named Emily (but in fact was an undercover detective with the Barrett Township Police Department in Pennsylvania). A probable cause affidavit notes that Ritter told "Emily" that we was "fantasizing about fucking you" and sent her a link to his web cam. "The web camera showed him masturbating again and then ejaculating," reported Detective Ryan Venneman."

Ritter was charged late last year with unlawful contact with a minor, criminal solicitation, and indecent exposure, among other felony and misdemeanor counts. Ritter, who lives near Albany, N.Y., was caught in the sting last February.

According to previous press reports, Ritter, pictured in the mug shot at left, was twice previously snared in similar undercover online investigations. In one of those cases, Ritter was charged with attempted child endangerment after arranging to rendezvous at a Burger King with a 16-year-old girl he had met in an online chat room (the teen turned out to be an undercover policewoman). That 2001 case, details of which have been sealed, was dismissed after Ritter stayed out of trouble for a prescribed period of time.

He is currently free on $25,000 unsecured bail and has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. (7 pages)