Sandusky County prosecutor Tim Braun resigned from his position last week.
Braun’s resignation comes after former female co-workers filed a lawsuit on January 10 asking him to be removed from office immediately, according to WTOL.
A judge suspended Braun last month after he pleaded guilty to negligent assault of a female co-worker. On top of this, other female co-workers credibly accused him of sexual misconduct.
A January 22 hearing was scheduled to determine Braun’s future in the prosecutor’s office. As a part of his plea deal, Braun was allowed to keep his $140,000 salary and had until June 30 to resign.
The former prosecutor sent his resignation letter to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost who described this resignation as a victory for the victims and the Sandusky County community.
“I admire the survivors’ courage and tenacity to stand. They were heard, believed and today, vindicated,” he said.
Yost and Gov. Mike DeWine had previously called on Braun to resign. Ohio’s attorney general went so far as to file a complaint in December that sought the former prosecutor’s removal.
“Braun’s pattern of misconduct towards his female subordinates, his criminal investigation into the missing personnel files, his seizure of his female subordinates’ private cell phone records, and his conviction of Negligent Assault on his female subordinate together demonstrate that he committed gross neglect of duty, gross immorality, misfeasance, malfeasance, and/or nonfeasance and is therefore guilty of misconduct in office and should be removed from office,” Yost’s complaint says.
An Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation found that the former prosecutor acted inappropriately around female co-workers. Some of the inappropriate actions included touching a woman’s breast; giving back rubs to female staff subordinates; giving sexual advise to a female subordinate; and making unwanted comments toward a female subordinate.
“Almost from the beginning, Braun engaged in a pattern of physical and psychological abuse, fear and intimidation of female subordinates for his own personal, prurient interests,” the complaint reads.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected].
Photo “Tim Braun” by Resign Now: No Plea Deal For Braun.
