Some of the charges against six pre-school employees in Pickaway County have been dismissed.
The Guardian was the first to tell you that Donna Solovey, Claudina Thompson, Hilda Winner, Debbie Hoffman, Kim Oliver, and Erica Rock were all charged with child abuse-related charges. The alleged crimes stem from Rock, who was a teacher at Pickaway County Head Start, and is accused of hitting her students. The others are administrators who are accused of failing to report the abuse to authorities after being told by fellow co-workers.
Five of the six were charged with a first degree misdemeanor of failing to report child abuse, while Rock, 39, is charged with child endangerment.
The charges against the five other staff members have been dismissed after the judge said her court was not the appropriate court to hear the cases.
Circleville Municipal Court Judge Elisa Peters authored a dismissal entry just three days after the charges were filed saying that the juvenile court was the correct venue to file the charges and that her court could only hear Rock’s case. The technicality stems from Ohio law, which says that if someone fails to report child abuse, then the case is heard in the probate court, not the municipal court.
Rock’s case proceeds forward in the court system with a hearing set for next month, while the cases for the others have been dismissed because of the jurisdiction issue.
So far, the prosecutor has not re-filed the charges with the juvenile court.
