Lockhart didn't dispute facts in child molestation case

SANDUSKY — Sandusky city commissioner Greg Lockhart has for months refused to answer the question: Did he molest a 14-year-old girl? He's not answering — one way or another, now — but he did not contest the facts during a hearing in January 2001.The Register, through a public records request, obtained an audio recording of that court hearing on Monday.The "version of facts" presented to Lockhart at the hearing were: "Mr. Lockhart did engage in sexual contact with the victim. Mr. Lockhart did solicit (the child) for sexual activity.""We will not contest the facts," Lockhart's attorney Dennis Levin tells the judge. "I'm just glad this is over with," Lockhart states after entering the no contest pleas. He was sentenced to three days in jail, which he'd already served. He also was fined $500, payable in 60 days from the hearing date.Lockhart's extensive criminal history — including additional no contest pleas in assault cases involving adult women — was exposed after he announced in early May that he intended to run as an independent candidate for Erie County commissioner this fall. In late June, the elections board ruled Lockhart can't run for office because he didn't submit enough valid signatures on his petition. He has twice been accused of rape since 2015, and there are more than 20 police reports on file with local law enforcement detailing alleged wrongdoing.Regarding the 2001 hearing, Lockhart met the 14-year-old girl at a teen dance club he operated in Milan off U.S. 250. He lured the girl to a backroom office at the club, cut the lights, put his mouth on her vagina and inserted his finger into her vagina as she pleaded with him to stop, according to an Erie County sheriff's report.Fewer than four years after that incident, Lockhart was ordered off the property at Perkins High School, where he slipped fliers under the windshield wipers of cars in the school parking lot, advertising a new dance club he was opening.In mid-May this year, a woman told sheriff's deputies Lockhart raped her when she was 16. The Register has provided limited details about her complaint because the alleged victim fears retaliation for coming forward. Five of his fellow city commissioners have asked Lockhart to resign since his criminal background became known. The only other commissioner, Wes Poole, has not taken a stand on if Lockhart should step down. Lockhart, who does not respond to questions from the Register, doesn't appear to be interested in quitting commission, despite the calls for him to step down. Instead, he's targeted another commissioner for a recall vote. Lockhart and city resident Tim Schwanger teamed up against commissioner Nikki Lloyd, who spearheaded a smoking ban in city-owned parks, green spaces and other public spaces. The vote went forward by a 5-2 decision, with only Lockhart and Poole dissenting.Schwanger is circulating a recall petition against Lloyd, claiming she's "violated ethics and conflicts of interest (rules) in voting to provide grant money and easements for a business partner." He has not provided details about what votes they claim are violations.Schwanger has said Lockhart's past criminal convictions are a "private" matter and have no bearing on his service as city commissioner. He's refused to offer any further explanation, and will not answer questions about the recall, or his partnership with Lockhart. Sandusky city commissioner Greg Lockhart