By: Jeremy Scott
Williams County Sheriff Steve Towns is facing three misdemeanor
charges alleging that he posted confidential child abuse reports
online.
Charges were filed Thursday in Bryan Municipal Court against Sheriff Towns for one count improperly disclosing confidential information and two counts improperly releasing child abuse reports. The charges stem from an October 2018 action where officials state that Sheriff Towns released confidential reports of suspected child abuse, and the illegal
identification of at least one child victim to the county sheriff website and Facebook page. This was because of a dispute the sheriff had with Williams County Job and Family Services.
In a statement obtained by The Toledo Blade, special prosecutor Mark Weaver stated “While a sheriff has the right to conduct investigations or offer criticism of other government officials, there’s no right to publicly disclose these confidential reports- in fact it’s a crime to do so.”
According to Sheriff Towns, he believed that the information had been properly redacted by his office prior to release, and he removed the report in less than a day after realizing some redactions were not made.
In a statement he made to The Blade Sheriff Towns said “It boils down to the fact that if other people had done their job properly, I wouldn’t have been put in a position to where I felt there was no other alternative than to let the public know that there were significant hazards and injuries going on to children that weren’t being handled properly.” Towns also stated “I fully will defend myself, and it’s just another case of malicious prosecution.”
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation, and if convicted, Towns could face maximum penalty of seven months in jail and fine of $1,250.
Jeremy can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com