Prosecutors: Michael Mearan violated bond conditions
Former Portsmouth city councilman Michael Mearan – who faces 18 charges related to sex trafficking – took on new clients at his law practice in violation of a condition of his bond, prosecutors say.
The state is arguing Mearan should go back to jail, documents say.
In a Wednesday court filing, state prosecutors Jennifer Rausch and Joel King requested Judge Patricia Cosgrove revoke Mearan’s bond for failure to comply with the conditions set during his October arraignment, when he was charged with nine counts of promoting prostitution, five counts of compelling prostitution, three counts of human trafficking and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Mearan, 75, has consistently denied the allegations, which were first reported in March 2019 by The Enquirer. Documents filed in January confirmed much of The Enquirer’s investigation and outlined how Mearan made women “crawl like dogs,” demeaned them, verbally abused them and pocketed the money they earned in sex-for-hire appointments he arranged.
His bond was set at $300,000, and he was released two days after the arraignment. The conditions of his release included electronic monitoring, restrictions on when he can leave his home and a prohibition from contacting any alleged victims or witnesses in the case.
Judge Cosgrove also told Mearan that, should he post bond, he may not accept any new clients while his case remained active. But Scioto County court records showed Mearan had approximately 50 open cases in early February.
On Feb. 3, during a hearing on a civil case, Mearan told the court “as far as I know, I’m authorized to practice law,” according to court documents.
Two days later the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Mearan’s law license “for an interim period.” The state attorney discipline board said it had credible evidence Mearan “engaged in human trafficking of at least five of his vulnerable clients…and poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public.”
Mearan has filed on his own behalf in the sex trafficking case. He told The Enquirer he plans to represent himself, though state prosecutors have challenged his ability to do so.
Mearan’s request to identify victims
Prosecutors have referred to six women in Mearan’s case as “Jane Doe 1-6” in order to keep them anonymous. Once the court decides whether or not Mearan can represent himself, prosecutors will share the victims’ names.
Mearan has requested that the court identify these women. In his response to the state’s motion to stop him from proceeding pro se, he asked for a hearing with the victims present “to explain any facts or circumstances that preclude my pro se representation.”
“I have been a practicing attorney since 1971 with over 100 jury trials,” Mearan wrote in the Feb. 26 filing. “As such, I am not in need of a court-appointed attorney or a standby attorney.”
A hearing is set for March 25, according to court records. Cosgrove is scheduled to rule on Mearan’s ability to defend himself and hear causation for Mearan’s bail revocation at that time.
If you or someone you know needs help
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888
Drug Helpline: 1-888-633-3239 If you know more about these allegations, please reach out to The Enquirer at Portsmouth@enquirer.com.
The Ohio State wrestling team was in the middle of a practice last March when its coaching staff delivered crushing news.
The NCAA championship meet had been postponed, soon to be canceled, due to a novel coronavirus pandemic. Their season was over.
“I was pretty upset, for sure,” OSU redshirt sophomore Rocky Jordan said
this week. “It was devastating to work hard all year, have a whole wrestling season and have it canceled within six days of the tournament.”
The disappointment has been difficult to forget. Jordan vividly recalls details from 12 months ago.
The Buckeyes were about 30 minutes into the start of their workout, and he was wearing two pairs of knee pads to cope with mat burns from the season's grind, before learning their undeserved fate.
Jordan and other Buckeyes wrestlers will have the opportunity to requalify for the national tournament this weekend when they head to the Big Ten championships at Penn State.
Ohio State fell below its usual high standards during a shortened, conference-only season, slipping dangerously close to .500 after consecutive losses to Michigan and Penn State to end last month. OSU finished the season 5-4 overall.
The Buckeyes had posted doubledigit
wins in dual meets in each season since going 2-11 in 2010-11.
Sammy Sasso, another third-year sophomore, is the only Buckeye who is pre-seeded at the top of his weight class at the Big Tens, starting at No. 1 in the 149-pound bracket after he went 9-0 during the regular season.
But longtime coach Tom Ryan believes pre-seeding has only so much bearing on how wrestlers ultimately fare in qualifying for the NCAA championships, which are to be held on March 18-20 in St. Louis. There is too much depth.
“Seeding is incredibly important on one level because the better your season was, the better chance you should have in the early rounds moving forward,” Ryan said. “But we see over and over again in the conference, No. 7 seeds beating 2s and beating 3s. Ultimately you got to be able to wrestle.”
Finishing near the top of a weight class should give wrestlers enough of a strong finish to make the tournament. The Big Ten is allocated 76 automatic
berths over 10 the classes for the NCAA championships.
Other highly seeded Buckeyes are Malik Heinselman, who is No. 3 in the 125-pound bracket, and Ethan Smith, also No. 3 in the 165-pound bracket.
Both have lost only one match apiece this season, and Smith has been unbeaten since faltering in his first matchup, in January.
Ryan believes the Buckeyes will need little motivation this weekend, seeing another chance to reach the pinnacle of college wrestling. Of the eight Buckeyes who qualified for the NCAA championships last spring, six of them are vying for another spot in the bracket, including Heinselman, Jordan, Sasso and Smith.
Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher, who were both seniors, are the sole departures from last season's team.
“Most of this team lost a chance,” Ryan said, “so I can't imagine they're not excited and hungry right now.” jkaufman@dispatch.com @joeyrkaufman