Ex-senator made repeated advances, accuser says

The sexual harassment allegation led Hite to abruptly resign his Senate seat Oct. 17, after Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, learned of the situation and strongly suggested that the Findlay Republican step down.

Former state Sen. Cliff Hite repeatedly told a young woman working at the Statehouse that he wanted to have sex with her and that he “couldn’t stop thinking about her,” according to a complaint she made to her superiors.

The sexual harassment allegation led Hite to abruptly resign his Senate seat Oct. 17, after Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, learned of the situation and strongly suggested that the Findlay Republican step down.

The incident involved a woman working for the Legislative Service Commission, an office that does much of the legal and research work for lawmakers, including writing bills and amendments. Her account was detailed in a memo by commission Director Mark Flanders and was requested by the Dispatch a public records request.

The incident comes as the nation’s focus on sexual harassment has heightened significantly in recent weeks following accusations made against powerful men in Washington, Hollywood and elsewhere.

While Hite has said the conversations were inappropriate, he said it was meant as “mild flirtation” that he did not know was offensive to the woman.

“While I disagree with many representations in the complaint, some of which I don’t believe happened, were misunderstood or were portrayed inaccurately, going through them point by point would not be a productive exercise,” Hite said Friday night.

The woman, who was not identified, said she first spoke to Hite, a former teacher and football coach known for his jovial nature, in early August in a “casual exchange” on a stairway into the Statehouse parking garage. But things escalated from there.

She said Hite friended her on Facebook and then began messaging her through Facebook with questions such as “Did you miss me?”

She said she then blocked him from contacting her, and Hite came into her office the next day and asked her why. She said she told him it was inappropriate, and though he initially left the office, he quickly returned.

“She stated that he told her he couldn’t stop thinking about her and that he needed a ‘(sex) buddy.’ He said that he had an affair before, that he had a condo, and that no one would ever know,” the report said.

Hite, 63, spent more than hour trying to convince her, including details about sex with his wife and expressing the desire for specific sexual acts including oral sex, according to the woman.

“She said she was extremely uncomfortable and nervous during the exchange, because he was a state senator sitting in her office,” the report said.

Hite left, she said, but returned the next day, asking if she had changed her mind. She said no.

From the end of August through September, the woman said Hite would repeatedly ask if she changed her mind, invited her to dinner and also physically hugged her.

“He told her that he would please her, and that no one would ever know,” the report said. “In one of those meetings, he asked her what LSC paid her. She commented that the attorneys on staff made good money, and he responded that ‘I can take care of that.’ She said that she laughed it off.”

Hite specifically denied making any employment promises or threatening action against her job.

In the last week of September, the woman said she was planning a trip to Nashville and Hite said he was going that weekend as well and wished she would come with him. On Oct. 10, Hite came to her office and, she said, he hugged her, said she “felt really good” and asked her to get together with him. “He again said that no one would know,” she said in the report.

Later that same day, she said she ran into Hite waiting for her in the Statehouse garage by his convertible. He told her to get in, but she declined, though he then followed her in his car until she re-entered the Statehouse, the report said.

The next day, Oct. 11, she said Hite came into her office with a bouquet of flowers with a note attached that read, “Today is ‘I work in a cave day.’ Oh, and if you live in my convertible you’ll like me too.” The bottom of the note had his office number.

According to the report, Hite also told her they could “just try it a few times. We can stop if it doesn’t work out.”

Two days after quitting, Hite released a statement apologizing, saying he is “not proud of recent inappropriate conversations” with a woman and that beyond hugs, there was “no inappropriate physical contact.”

Senate leaders are in the process of appointing Hite’s replacement in his northwest Ohio district.