Braun target of criminal probe?

UPDATE posted at noon, Monday, May 13, 2019In all four women have resigned from their jobs in the Sandusky County prosecutor's office since 2017. Valerie VanFleet, a longtime administrative assistant, quit on April 10; Rachel Dewey quit on April 12; Tinisha Ollum quit on May 10, 2017; and Jennifer Ollum quit Aug. 10, 2018, according to information from the county human resources office.Resignation letters for the four women are not available because the personnel files for all employees in the prosecutor's office went missing last month.The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting a probe to determine what happened to the missing files, and also is investigating a "harassment" complaint made by an prosecutor's office employee.*Original updated post, 5 p.m. Sunday, May 12, 2019FREMONT — Two women resigned recently from the Sandusky County Prosecutor's Office and another employee filed a complaint with the county's human resources director that was referred to the sheriff for a criminal investigation.Valerie VanFleet, a longtime administrative assistant and Rachel Dewey, an assistant prosecutor, both recently quit working for Prosecutor Tim Braun, according to minutes from the April 11 county commissioners meeting.It's not known if their resignations are related to a recent harassment complaint filed by someone else inside the office, or if the resignations are somehow related to the mysterious disappearance of personnel files for all the employees of the prosecutor's office.The exact nature of the employee's complaint has not been disclosed, but it appears Braun, who was elected in 2016, could be the target of the criminal investigation. An initial incident report described the complaint as "harassment."Sheriff Chris Hilton asked the state to conduct the investigation, citing potential conflicts. Hilton also said he would seek an interim prosecutor to handle daily and routine business between the sheriff's office and Braun, which suggests it is Braun being investigated. Braun, who was scheduled to talk with county commissioners on Thursday but canceled the appointment, refused to answer questions when contacted on Wednesday. He has not responded to written inquiries from the Register. At some point in April Braun ordered all 17 personnel files for employees of the prosecutor's office be delivered to him, and he later reported them missing. He informed county administrator Theresa Garcia about the theft and told her he had investigated.He refused to say what he'd determined about the missing files, when contacted Wednesday, or comment about the personnel complaint."An investigation is being conducted by a number of individuals. I don't know yet how this is going to turn out. I'm not accusing anyone of anything," Braun said.It's unclear what Braun meant by not knowing how it would "turn out."Hilton declined to comment, saying the investigation is being handled by the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is investigating both the missing files and the personnel complaint. BCI acknowledged it had received the request for an investigation, but declined further comment.Dewey, whose father is Common Pleas Judge John Dewey, was hired by Braun shortly after Braun took office in 2017.Assistant prosecutors Mark Mulligan, Joe Gerber and Kaitlyn Klucas attended the April 11 commissioners meeting and said they would be sharing the juvenile court responsibilities that Rachel Dewey previously handled. The office already posted the job opening for VanFleet's position, they said.Sandusky County Prosecutor Tim Braun on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017.