***OHIO WOMEN'S RIGHTS ADVOCATE SPEAKS OUT ON BEHALF OF RAPE SURVIVORS! "Sheriff Levorchick STEP DOWN!" says Tracy Thom
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https://lnkd.in/eNeatk_8
"As an advocate of crime victims, I know firsthand the failures of the prosecutor’s office under Mark Mulligan to seek justice for victims, and I have come to realize you, too, are part of this culture," Thom wrote. Mulligan was voted out of office in November 2016.
Thom also contends Levorchick "had many opportunities to fix past mistakes," but he failed to do that.
She contends he didn't divulge a 2008 rape complaint that involved the same person named in the more recent complaint in which the woman was charged, and that "questions remain as to how (Levorchick) handled that (earlier) complaint" and his "personal relationships in that regard." She also cited other rape investigations that failed under Levorchick's watch.
"From 2008 to 2014, the failed investigation of serial rapist McClain Durst caused traumatic fallout for the victim that I can only imagine, not to mention the subsequent pain and anguish caused by Durst’s obsessive subsequent sexual attacks on other underage girls after the Sheriff of Ottawa County failed to keep him off the streets."
Durst, a registered sex offender at the time, was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. But the detective Levorchick assigned to that investigation told Durst she didn't want him to be charged with rape, and that she would charge the girl with filing a false report, if she could. Mulligan made a plea deal with Durst without informing the girl or her family for him to be charged with contributing to the unruliness of a minor.
Thom said Levorchick is "continuing the Mulligan culture," making "it clear that Ottawa County is unable or unwilling to bring rapists and serial predators to justice."
In his March 1 email to the Register, Levorchick said he wasn't aware what was discussed concerning the Durst case. "I was not privy to any conversations between (the detective) and Mark Mulligan," he said.
Thom also contends that personnel under Levorchick's command shared graphic, intimate photos of a sexual assault victim "in complete disrespect and disregard for her humanity."
"It’s my understanding these photos were shared in a mocking manner with others in your office and outside law enforcement. Those engaging in such mockery included you."
She continued.
"The buck stops with you, sir. The only person remaining from the Mulligan culture and its mistreatment of women is you. It is for these reasons and the safety of future victims that I ask that you step down from your position and let the healing begin for the victims you have failed," Thom wrote." - Sandusky Register (abbreviated article)
https://sanduskyregister.com/news/373740/sheriff-asked-to-step-down/