Sheriff to fight for his job
WAVERLY — As one of his own deputies stood guard at the front door, embattled Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader walked into the county courthouse with his head held high Tuesday morning just before his attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf to 16 criminal charges.
Reader, wearing a suit and tie instead of his uniform, held hands with his wife, Ramona, as he entered. In her other hand, she clutched a wallet, cellphone and wad of tissues to catch her tears.
Reader’s attorney, James Boulger, entered not guilty pleas to eight felonies and eight misdemeanors on the sheriff’s behalf. A Pike County grand jury indicted Reader, 45, on Friday on the 16 charges related to his performance in office. Among the charges are counts of theft, theft in office, tampering with evidence, tampering with records and conflict of interest.
Retired Fairfield County Common Pleas Judge Chris Martin — hearing the case by special assignment after the local judge recused himself — ordered the sheriff released on his own recognizance. But Martin ordered Reader to turn in all keys and a key fob that gets him into the courthouse. He also ordered that no one involved in the case discuss it on social media and that the sheriff have no contact with anyone on the state’s witness list. Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader flips through court documents before his arraignment Tuesday at the Pike County Courthouse in Waverly.
When Reader entered the courthouse through a crush of reporters, he was handed an official copy of a motion that Ohio Auditor Keith Faber filed with the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday to have him suspended with pay as the case proceeds. The sheriff responded to the state auditor’s office investigator who handed him the paperwork: “OK. I’m gonna fight this.”
Faber, whose office is prosecuting the case, said in a statement Tuesday that Reader’s removal is necessary to restore the public’s trust in law enforcement.
“The details of this case demonstrate that Charles Reader has abused his position for personal gain and violated his oath to faithfully and lawfully serve the people of Pike County,” Faber said.
The process for suspending Reader starts at the Ohio Supreme Court, where a three-judge panel will rule on the auditor’s request.
The charges against Reader came after someone filed an anonymous complaint with the state auditor’s office in November accusing Reader of stealing money from drug busts and taking loans from employees to fuel a gambling habit. The state auditor’s office would not detail specific behavior that led to the charges. Records indicate, however, that eight of them have to do with the procuring, buying or selling of two vehicles; three relate to case evidence; and the rest deal with loans Reader is accused of taking from his employees and a county vendor.
On Friday, as the grand jury was meeting to decide on charges, no Pike County deputies were allowed inside the courthouse unless they had been subpoenaed, and security was being handled by court bailiffs, prosecutor’s investigators and plainclothes detectives from nearby counties.
By contrast, on Tuesday, Pike County deputies lingered everywhere and other court cases were happening as usual as jail prisoners shuffled down the hallway in shackles, seemingly unaware and unconcerned about what was happening in the sheriff’s case. After his six-minute arraignment, Reader and his wife left the courthouse immediately.
Reader quickly returned to the clerk’s office, however, because he had to sign the bond paperwork that assures he will continue to show up for court. Upon his return, asked if he had anything to say about the state’s move to suspend him, Reader said only “no comment.”
Reader was appointed sheriff in May 2015 and elected to his first full term in November 2016.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who on Monday was the first to call for the sheriff’s resignation, said Tuesday that he supports Faber’s move to seek Reader’s suspension.
“Sheriff Reader violated the public’s trust when he used his office to benefit himself rather than the public,” Yost said in a release Tuesday. “Reader has been credibly accused and indicted. Under these circumstances, I don’t see how he can be an effective law enforcement officer.”
Yost said removing Reader from office will have no effect on the state’s ability to prosecute the defendants accused of murdering eight members of the Rhoden families in April 2016, a case which propelled the sheriff into a national spotlight.
In his brief, Yost made clear that Reader “played no material role” in the Rhoden investigation.
After officials learned of the Rhoden family murders on April 22, 2016, Reader immediately contacted the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and requested its Special Investigations Unit lead the probe, according to the brief. While Reader received periodic updates about the investigation, Yost said Reader was never the affiant on any search warrant, subpoena or court order.
After court Tuesday, Reader’s spokesman Derek Myers said the move to suspend is premature.
“We live in a society where one is innocent until proven guilty,” Myers said. “The sheriff has built his life on the justice system and he deserves due process.”
Reader is due back in court Aug. 12.