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COTTERMAN |
JACKSON CENTER — Joseph E. Cotterman, the police chief of Jackson Center, was indicted Thursday by a Shelby County grand jury on one count of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony, according to area reports.
He was arrested without incident Thursday and briefly incarcerated in the Shelby County Jail on a $5,000 bond. His arraignment is set for 10 a.m. March 3.
According to court records, Cotterman “by force, had sexual contact with a 19-year-old female.” He has been on paid administrative leave since Feb. 5, following the filing of the original complaint.
On Jan. 27, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the mother of a 19-year-old female, stating that her daughter had been sexually assaulted by the chief. The incident was alleged to have occurred when Cotterman was on duty. An investigation was started immediately, according to the sheriff’s office, with the victim being interviewed and sent to Wilson Health for an examination.
Evidence in the case was presented to the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Identification lab.
Jackson Center Mayor Scott Klopfenstein said earlier this month that Cotterman was placed on administrative leave because “we felt he needed that time” to deal with the situation.
At the Feb. 8, meeting of the Jackson Center Village Council the council voted to make Lt. Chief Chuck Wirick the interim chief.
The council also voted to leave Cotterman’s pay intact as well as his K9 stipend until the first council meeting in March when they would revisit it. They voted to increase Wirick’s pay as well, until further notice, from $1,477 bi-weekly to $1,686 bi-weekly.