The Pike County Sheriff who is charged with 16 criminal counts plead not guilty Tuesday morning with his attorney by his side.
Sheriff Charles S. Reader is facing sixteen charges, eight misdemeanors and eight felonies. The charges stem from the Sheriff allegedly borrowing money off of employees, and what the state contends in their indictments of, “theft in office” for the Sheriff allegedly auctioning off cars to friends.
Reader was indicted on Friday and served with a summons to appear for Tuesday morning. His attorney, Jim Boulger of Chillicothe, entered the not guilty pleas as the Sheriff stood silently next to him in the Pike County Courthouse.
The state did not object to an own recognizance bond, but requested the Sheriff’s keys to the courthouse and ordered no contact with witnesses, on a list the state provided. The judge further ordered no comments be made on social media about he cases by the state, attorneys, or any witnesses on the list.
The Sheriff will remain in office with no intentions on resigning, according to sources, however, the state prosecution has moved for Reader to be suspended from office pending the outcome of the cases. It will be up to a panel of three judges appointed by the Supreme Court to determine if Reader can stay in office until the resolution of his trial. The proceedings are expected to take several weeks.
Under state law, a person charged with felonies must be brought to trial within 270 days unless they waive their right to a speedy trial. So far, Reader has not waived him time.
A disclaimer has been added to this story to publicly disclose that the Guardian’s interim editor-in-chief Derek Myers — through a private LLC — has a contractual agreement with Sheriff Charles S. Reader for public relations management.
