Former fire chief indicted

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton's former fire chief Kent Johnson was indicted Wednesday by an Ottawa County grand jury on ten counts for various crimes, including a felony sex charge. Johnson, 65, of the 400 block of Adams St. in Port Clinton, was indicted on the following charges: • Two counts of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony • One count of unauthorized use of computer, cable or telecommunications property, a fifth-degree felony • One count of theft in office, a fourth-degree felony • One count of voyeurism, a first-degree misdemeanor • One count of interfering with civil rights, a first-degree misdemeanor • One count of menacing by stalking, a first-degree misdemeanor • One count of telecommunications harassment, a first-degree misdemeanor • One count of intimidation of an attorney, victim, or witness in a criminal case, a first-degree misdemeanor • One count of theft, a first-degree misdemeanor Claims made against the former fire chief in the indictment include: • Allegedly "had sexual contact" with someone by force or threat of force • Allegedly stole or misused between $1,000 and $7,500 from his office • Attempted to "intimidate or hinder the victim of a crime" Prior claims Johnson was initially placed on paid administrative leave on June 6, 2023, following allegations made by a former Port Clinton firefighter/EMT, Rebekah Huskey, who claims that she was repeatedly sexually harassed and abused by Johnson. The Register is identifying Huskey as she has previously been identified through her attornies. The indictment did not explicitly identify Huskey as the victim of the alleged crimes. Johnson was later permanently removed from his position at the city on Jan. 18, according to court records. Huskey filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Johnson and the city of Port Clinton last year in federal court, alleging the former fire chief had made inappropriate sexual remarks and had groped her. As of July 10, a case management conference was scheduled for Aug. 14 in Huskey's federal lawsuit against Johnson and the city of Port Clinton. Separately, Johnson sued Port Clinton in Ottawa County's common pleas court over the circumstances surrounding his suspension and, later, firing. A visiting judge, John Klaehn, dismissed Johnson's lawsuit on July 16. According to Johnson's indictment, the alleged crimes can be dated back to January 2019. Some crimes were allegedly committed between September 2022 and May 2023, where he had "sexual contact with another, (who) (was) not his spouse, by purposely compelling said other person to submit by force or threat of force." Previous allegations listed in her lawsuit include the following: • After severely injuring her back while working as an EMT, Johnson allegedly pressured Huskey into withdrawing her workers' compensation claim. • Johnson allegedly made comments and sent text messages to Huskey that were romantic or sexual in nature that she felt were inappropriate. • Johnson "removed or discarded" Huskey's firefighter/EMT continuing-education training records, ultimately forcing her to do her training all over again and interfering with her ability to recertify as a firefighter. Johnson has an arraignment scheduled for Sept. 4. A summons was issued for him to appear in court at that time; it did not immediately appear that Johnson had been arrested or jailed on those charges. Henry County prosecutor Gwen Howe-Gebers is prosecuting the case as special prosecutor, according to the court docket. Ottawa County common pleas Judge Bruce Winters has recused himself from the case. Replacing him is visiting Judge Robert Christiansen, a retired Toledo Municipal Court judge. Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the status of Johnson's civil suit in Ottawa County.