PREBLE COUNTY — A Miami Valley state lawmaker was accused of inappropriate touching. The allegations led to a long investigation but no criminal charges.
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The case file News Center 7 got a hold of shows investigators raised concerns about the lawmaker’s behavior.
Several Ohio BCI documents and audio recordings News Center 7 obtained through a public records request with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office show the focus of the investigation was State Rep. Rodney Creech, (R) – West Alexandria.
His Ohio House district includes all of Preble County, plus portions of Montgomery and Butler counties.
In an audio recording included in the BCI investigative file, Creech can be heard denying allegations of sexual misconduct in an interview with two Ohio BCI agents.
“No, you know, no sexual -- nothing like that,” Creech can be heard saying in the March 2024 recorded interview. “It‘s disgusting to even think about.”
A teenage girl, who is known to Creech, accused him of inappropriate touching.
Documents show she first told someone about the allegations in May 2023.
About two months later, Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson confirmed to News Center 7 that the alleged victim’s stepfather called him directly about the allegations and provided text messages.
“The characterization of the phone call was not to file a report with us or request that an investigation be conducted,” Simpson told News Center 7 in a phone interview on Wednesday.
This is how the lead investigator on the case, BCI Special Agent Perry Roeser, documented what Simpson told him about that phone call during a meeting in November 2023:
“(The stepfather) apparently told Simpson that he felt he had to say something due to his position as a mandatory reporter. (Redacted) sent Simpson text messages that outlined (redacted) actions. Simpson told SA Roeser he took the text messages to his county prosecutor, Martin Votel, for his opinion. Simpson said Mr. Votel indicated there was no criminal complaint at that time. No report or other action took place from the sheriff’s office.”
The BCI files News Center 7 obtained include a recording of two BCI agents interviewing the alleged victim’s mother. At one point, agents told her this about her husband’s direct call to Sheriff Simpson:
“‘You should have walked into the sheriff’s office (and said), ‘I need to see (a uniformed patrol officer), I need to make a report.’” Special Agent Roeser said. “Period. Done.”
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The alleged victim’s mother wrote in a summary of the allegations provided to BCI that at one point, the case was “presented” to the “Preble County Prosecutor which (sic) declined to file charges.”
On Wednesday, News Center 7 reached out to Preble County Common Pleas Court Judge Martin Votel, who was the Preble County Prosecutor at that time.
“The idea that I declined charges is just absolutely false,” Votel said. “It‘s a mischaracterization.”
“It was it was a consultation. Like many, many, many we had in our careers working as sheriff and prosecutor. ‘What are your thoughts on this? What do you think? Is this colorably criminal?’ And based on the information that we had -- and the information was scanned -- it was just in the form of a text message. I said, based on that information alone, no, I don’t see that there’s evidence of a crime here or even reasonable suspicion to believe a crime had been committed,” Votel said.
“(As a) prosecutor for 27 years, allegations of child sexual abuse are not euthanized, are not covered up, no matter whether it‘s regarding a friend, a colleague, etcetera, period. That didn’t happen here,” Votel said.
Simpson also characterized that same meeting with Votel as a “consultation.” Simpson also confirmed Wednesday that his office did not produce a report at that time, nor interview Creech or the teen girl.
“And there’s no way we would have not investigated that had that request been made to us.” Simpson said. “And I would tell you that had we done that, our path would have been the same path that we took in September (2023).”
That‘s when, in the fall of 2023, BCI records show the allegations were disclosed again. This time, at the Montgomery County CARE House, during an interview in an unrelated case.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office contacted Simpson about that information, BCI documents say.
Creech has spent years in elected office in Preble County. He’s a former county commissioner there. As a result, Simpson and Votel recused themselves from the investigation.
Ohio BCI investigated and Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Driscoll took the case as a special prosecutor.
BCI agents also interviewed Miami Valley state lawmaker, State Rep. Phil Plummer, (R) – Butler Twp., as a part of the probe.
Plummer told state agents Creech mentioned the allegations against him during a conversation in the halls of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
During his audio-recorded interview with BCI agents in February 2024, Plummer mentioned the potential that he and Creech could run against each other for public office.
This past Monday Creech announced a run for an Ohio Senate seat that covers portions of the Miami Valley. The seat is currently held by State Senator Stephen Huffman.
At one point of the interview, Special Agent Roeser asked Plummer, “Do you personally have any political motivation to come forward with this conversation today? Because this is going to come up.”
Plummer answered: “I’m not doing this for political motivation. I’ll beat him any day of the week. He’s not -- He ain’t even on my radar.”
When reached by News Center 7 on Wednesday, Plummer said he was working to put a statement together and would check with his attorney, citing “potential civil actions.” As of this report, Plummer has not provided a statement.
In the case file, Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll wrote a letter in which he said at one point, “(Creech’s) behavior during the time of the investigation was concerning and suspicious.”
Driscoll told News Center 7 on Wednesday that included the time “during the investigation and prior to it.”
But in a letter dated October 2024 included in the BCI case file, Driscoll wrote, “However, the evidence falls short of the threshold needed for prosecution. I have spoken with the investigator in this case and believe he has pursued all leads to an end …. At this point I consider the case closed.”
Again, Creech denied wrongdoing in his interview with BCI and was not criminally charged.
In a statement sent to News Center 7, Creech said:
“I’m deeply disappointed to see my political opponents dig up an old false allegation, for which a law enforcement investigation cleared my name. It seems to be no coincidence that this political smear piece is appearing just days after I announced my campaign for Ohio Senate. “I’m deeply disappointed to see my political opponents dig up an old false allegation, for which a law enforcement investigation cleared my name. It seems to be no coincidence that this political smear piece is appearing just days after I announced my campaign for Ohio Senate.
I want to be very clear: Dragging my minor child into a campaign and exploiting her for political gain is disgusting and unacceptable. These allegations have been found to be demonstrably false, and I have already begun pursuing legal action against those who are pushing this filth. Like President Trump, I am no stranger to false media attacks. This will not deter my important work on behalf of my constituents, and I look forward to eventually running my Senate campaign on the issues that matter to Ohioans.“ I want to be very clear: Dragging [a] child into a campaign and exploiting her for political gain is disgusting and unacceptable. These allegations have been found to be demonstrably false, and I have already begun pursuing legal action against those who are pushing this filth. Like President Trump, I am no stranger to false media attacks. This will not deter my important work on behalf of my constituents, and I look forward to eventually running my Senate campaign on the issues that matter to Ohioans.”
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