Sandusky County judge's conduct under scrutiny

FREMONT — Sandusky County officials said that a third party completed an investigation of two who work at the county courthouse, including a county judge, after complaints of harassment emerged this year. Ohio law firm Clemans Nelson & Associates completed an investigation into the complaints filed against Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jon Ickes and courthouse bailiff Candice Talbot over allegations of inappropriate conduct. The investigation — which has concluded and a finalized report issued, county officials said — was started after three county employees filed anti-discrimination complaints with Sandusky County this past April. The Clemans Nelson investigation was ordered by Ickes, county administrator Theresa Garcia said. The employees' complaints largely revolve around inappropriate remarks purportedly made by Ickes. Some of the allegations against the judge include the following: • Allegedly made inappropriate comments regarding a pregnant woman's body, including comments about the "butt fairy" and and made a similar remark about the woman's breasts. Talbot was also allegedly involved in the conversation and allegedly made inappropriate remarks relating to the woman's pregnancy. • Allegedly showed other women in his office photos that he would take of women in bikinis and skirts • Allegedly made comments to male staff members about going to a female defendant's place of work, a massage parlor and strip club, as a group on various occasions • Allegedly referred to a male HR employee by a derogatory nickname • Allegedly, on multiple occasions, ate off the plate of a female employee despite being asked multiple times not to do so • Allegedly made a comment that he needed a 20-year-old girlfriend and that his wife wouldn't mind • Allegedly referred to the social media platform Snapchat as "Snatchchat" during court proceedings • Allegedly made a comment about a young female attorney and the way she sat in her chair as "sexy" • Allegedly exposed his calf to a female employee on multiple occasions and would proceed to rub lotion on it while looking directly at her with his mouth open and moaning • Allegedly referred to a county court case involving infant rape as the "baby (expletive) sucking case." Talbot also allegedly made the same remark. • Allegedly quoted a line from a movie that contained a racial slur, which allegedly happened in view of a defendant Ickes, in an email Monday, said that he is "currently following the recommendations made in the report." The judge did not clarify what those recommendations were, though, and the completed investigation report was not provided to the Register by Monday evening. Other questions sent to Ickes about the allegations were not answered by press time Monday. Garcia said Tablot was placed on leave on May 3. WTOL-11 Toledo reported that she has since returned to work. Meanwhile, Ickes, the county's administrative judge, cannot be sanctioned by the county due to his status as an elected official. "The administration has no authority over elected officials," Garcia said. "All decisions relative to discipline are solely determined by the elected official." She referred further questions about the investigation to Ickes himself. While the county cannot discipline Ickes, a state office — the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, a branch of the Ohio Supreme Court — has the authority to investigate an "attorney or judicial officer" if a grievance is filed against them. State disciplinary council Joseph Caligiuri told the Register that his office "cannot confirm or deny" the existence of an investigation into Ickes. Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify how the investigation began.