BRYAN, Ohio — Williams County Sheriff Steven Towns was criminally charged on Thursday with three misdemeanor offenses stemming from the sheriff’s illegal internet release of documents containing confidential child abuse reports.
Ohio law requires many professionals such as school employees, children service workers, and most medical personnel to report suspected child abuse. These reports are confidential by law, to both shield the identity of child victims and protect those who come forward with information about potential abuse.
The prosecution is being handled by Special Williams County Prosecutor and Special Bryan City Attorney Mark R. Weaver as well as Assistant Special Prosecutor Ryan Stubenrauch. Both special prosecutors have served in similar roles in at least a dozen Ohio counties. The investigation was conducted by the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
“Ohio law requires public officials to keep mandatory reports of suspected child abuse strictly confidential. Every public official, even a sheriff, is required to follow that law,” Special Prosecutor Mark R. Weaver said. “While a sheriff has the right to conduct investigations or offer criticism of other government officials, there’s no right to publicly disclose these confidential reports -- in fact it’s a crime to do so.”
The criminal complaint, filed in Bryan Municipal Court, alleges that on October 19, 2018, Sheriff Towns posted hundreds of pages of information to the Williams County Sheriff’s website and Facebook page. Included in that release were at least two confidential reports of suspected child abuse made by medical professionals. In addition, at least one child victim was illegally identified in the internet posting made by the sheriff.
The special prosecutors charged Towns with one count of improperly disclosing confidential information in violation of R.C. 102.03 (a first-degree misdemeanor) and two counts of improperly releasing child abuse reports in violation of R.C. 2151.421 (both fourth-degree misdemeanors). If convicted, Towns faces a maximum possible penalty of seven months in jail and a fine of $1,250.
All defendants, including Towns, are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The complaint will be served by mailed summons on Sheriff Towns.
