YOUNGSTOWN — Ex-doctor Albert Aiad Toss, formerly of Canfield, who was sentenced in June 2021 to 22 years in federal prison for sex trafficking juveniles, is asking a judge to set aside or correct Aiad Toss’ sentence because of alleged ineffective assistance from his lawyer.

U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Barker in Cleveland sentenced Aiad Toss, 54, to 22 years in prison for engaging in sex acts with children ages 12 to 15 in 2019. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of sex trafficking and one count of producing child pornography.

He formerly worked for an outside company as an emergency room doctor at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital but was taken off the schedule when the allegations surfaced in 2019. His medical license was suspended in December 2019 because of the criminal charges, according to the Ohio Medical Board.

Federal investigators have said that Ashland police contacted the FBI after the mother of a 13-year-old girl told authorities the girl and other juveniles met Aiad Toss on the social media app Snapchat and that he paid them for sex acts.

Aiad Toss filed the motion without a lawyer, stating that his attorney “coerced” him to enter an involuntary plea in his case. He was denied effective assistance of counsel because his counsel waived objections to factual inaccuracies in a presentence report provided to the judge showing Aiad Toss’ background and history, the filing states.

His attorney “admitted fault for failing to submit evidence” regarding a second mortgage on Aiad Toss’ home, and his lawyer failed to request a different sentence because of Aiad Toss’ “mental and emotional condition.”

The filing alleges that his court-appointed lawyer “failed to investigate Mr. Aiad Toss’ case. Instead, (he or she) told Mr. Aiad Toss that if (he) insisted on going to trial, he would do nothing.”

Court documents state that on June 21, 2019, Aiad-Toss engaged in commercial sex acts with two of the victims in a motel in Fairlawn. On the way there, he stopped at an adult sex toy store and bought sex toys. Surveillance video showed that he entered the store on that date and that the victims were left in the car. They were not old enough to enter the store.

A search of the phone of one of the juveniles showed a payment of $500, another for $500 and another for $300.

Investigators also found videos on the girl’s phone showing one of the victims simulating a sex act, a federal affidavit said.

After flying into the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on July 5, 2019, Aiad-Toss was detained by federal agents.

erunyan@vindy.com