Incidents called inappropriate, unjustifiable
Sheriff investigates seven officers for sexual harassment.
Internal investigations at the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office into claims of unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate text and social-media messages have resulted in seven officers in the corrections division facing discipline.
A lieutenant and a sergeant were fired, while a second sergeant was allowed to retire in lieu of termination following a settlement agreement. One corrections officer was fired, two others were given 70-day unpaid suspensions, and another resigned in advance of a disciplinary hearing.
Sheriff John Tharp called the incidents unacceptable and unjustifiable.
“As soon as I heard about it, we acted aggressively,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not going to be tolerated.”
Deputy Pat Mangold, president of the United Auto Workers Local 3056 that represents non-command officers, said the union “does not condone that behavior from anyone, command or non-command.” He declined to seek direct comment from the four corrections officers involved.
A representative of the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, which represents command officers, did not return a call seeking comment.
Lt. John Coleman was fired March 3 for 10 counts of conduct unbecoming an employee and three counts of racial and sexual remarks and/or harassment. An arbitration hearing in the case is being scheduled for April, according to internal affairs.
A report of the internal investigation says another lieutenant relayed his concerns Dec. 30 after a female corrections officer said a lieutenant and a sergeant had separately been texting her seeking romantic relationships.
The investigation found Lieutenant Coleman had messaged at least 11 women in the department at various times over the course of more than four years. He complimented their appearances, made comments alluding to the size of his genitals, and made other sexual overtures, the report said. Some of the messages were sent by text, by Facebook messenger, or by instant messenger.
One of the women said, “Lt. John Coleman has sent messages to subordinates and that females have been subjected to comments when they hire in, and that this has occurred for years here,” the report states.
Some of the women said the messages often came at night and Coleman may have been drinking, according to the report.
“During this ongoing investigation, Lt. Coleman contacted three of the female employees and apologized to them if he had ever offended them in the past,” the report states. “Some of the statements provided by the women were sexual in nature and disturbing. ... The texts and calls over this time period are very similar in content, verbiage, and the desire on the part of Lt. Coleman to establish and personal and or sexual relationship with them.”
Deputy Mangold got involved in at least one case to tell Coleman to stop contacting a woman. Another woman’s husband messaged Coleman directly, while a third woman’s relative — who also works in the sheriff ’s office — told the lieutenant to stop.
Coleman was hired in July, 1999, and was placed on paid administrative leave Dec. 30 when the investigation began. His most recent salary was $73,507.
Sgt. David Martin was the second command officer implicated by the Dec. 30 complaint. He was initially fired Jan. 23 on one count each of conduct unbecoming an employee and racial and sexual remarks and/or harassment. A settlement agreement with the United Auto Workers Local 12 — which was the union representing command officers at the time — converted the termination into a retirement.
Sergeant Martin was accused of repeatedly contacting the female corrections officer beginning in early 2019, seeking a romantic relationship, according to a report. The two talked frequently at work, and the sergeant “hit on her” and sent her messages through text and Facebook. The woman told investigators it made her “uncomfortable” and that she “only wanted to have a professional relationship.”
In an interview, investigators said Sergeant Martin admitted that he had asked the woman “what her turn ons were” and indicated they had a close friendship.
“I let her into my personal life as a friend,” Sergeant Martin said, according to an investigator’s notes.
The situation came to light just a couple of months after a “last chance agreement” for Sergeant Martin expired in October, 2019. The agreement stemmed from an earlier disciplinary incident in 2017. At the time, the sergeant had been given a 90-day unpaid suspension after a confrontation with a female deputy in which he grabbed her wrist. The deputy had refused an assignment to transport an inmate.
The officer, Rachelle RuizFane, has a pending lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Toledo against Sergeant Martin and Sheriff Tharp. The suit, filed in January, 2019, alleges sexual and racial harassment and discrimination. Deputy RuizFane was scheduled for a deposition last month, and a joint motion filed March 3 requests a 120-day extension.
Sergeant Martin was hired in November, 1994 and had a salary of $68,515 when he retired. He had also been on paid administrative leave since the Dec. 30 complaint.
Five other officers were accused of sending inappropriate messages and images in various group texts, many while on duty. The interrelated investigations began in January.
Sgt. Anthony Moesenthin was fired Monday on three counts of racial and sexual remarks and/or harassment and one count conduct unbecoming an employee. Three separate internal affairs reports show he admitted to taking photos of three different female corrections officers and altering them to add images of penises near their mouths. He then shared those altered photos in group text messages with other corrections officers, and at least one was shared while the sergeant was on duty.
One of the images Sergeant Moesenthin created was presented to the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office for review, but the victim declined charges, according to internal affairs. One of the women also told investigators the sergeant sent her personal text messages and asked if she was interested in dating him.
Sergeant Moesenthin, who was placed on paid leave Jan. 10, had been with the sheriff ’s office since July, 2003. His most recent salary was $66,830.
The group messaging issue also included four corrections officers: Stephanie Frasure, Julie Garner, Lee Heckel, and Gary Moore. All four were charged internally with one count each of conduct unbecoming an employee and racial and sexual remarks and/or harassment for sharing explicit images, some altered to include the faces of other officers, or sexually suggestive images and comments.
Sergeant Moesenthin provided investigators several screenshots of other messages from the group texts. They included images of a naked male edited to place the sergeant’s smiling face near the man’s penis, and a second that altered that image to change the naked man’s face to that of Officer Moore.
Another image was of a male Lucas County corrections officer taken inside the jail while he was eating, accompanied by a suggestive caption. Others included a woman performing oral sex on a man, an unidentified naked man in a shower, and a collection of sex toys with an “Avengers” theme.
Officer Garner, who had been with the department since July, 2003, and was paid $52,853, was fired Monday after Sheriff Tharp said she did not accept a settlement offer. Deputy Mangold said the termination is being appealed through the grievance process.
Officers Frasure and Heckel were given 70-day unpaid suspensions in lieu of termination after negotiation with the union. Officer Frasure was hired in August, 2013, while Officer Heckel was hired in October, 2012; both are paid $52,104.
Officer Moore resigned Monday in advance of a disciplinary hearing, citing another job opportunity. He had been with the department since March, 2015, and was paid $51,958.
Both Sheriff Tharp and Deputy Mangold said they believe the situation is limited to a few individuals, and there is not a larger cultural issue within the department.
“I think that’s a group of people who we’ve identified who have been speaking inappropriately and interacting inappropriately with each other, and deal with that aggressively,” the sheriff said. “I don’t see a culture of sexual harassment and this type of activity among the majority of the people within our operation.”
Deputy Mangold said Local 3056 representatives accompanied all female victims during interviews in the investigations against command officers.
“We were present with all the female officers and supported them,” he said. “We advocated that they report it.”
Arrangements for department-wide training regarding culture, diversity and sexual harassment are being made, Sheriff Tharp said.
“We work for the community. We’re paid by the community. We should be conducting ourselves professionally,” he said. “This is not humor. It’s not funny. It’s not acceptable in the workplace or outside the workplace.”