BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Undaunted by two trials that ended without verdicts, prosecutors are again preparing a case against former Harrison Police Chief Thomas Keenan.
This time, they say, there might even be some new charges.
The prosecution announced its plans Tuesday at a hearing before Judge Steven Martin of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, who will decide within two weeks whether to allow another trial.
Mr. Keenan, who lost his job last year, is accused of fondling and groping a female clerk at the police station. He faces charges of rape and gross sexual imposition.
Defense attorneys have repeatedly argued that their client is innocent and his accuser is a mentally unstable pawn of Mr. Keenan's political enemies.
In a motion to dismiss all charges, defense attorney Firooz Namei urged the judge to throw out the case because it is based on "untruthful" witnesses. He said the prosecution's failure to get a conviction after two trials is proof the case is not worthy of a third.
"It is respectfully requested that this court dismiss this case and avoid the further waste of the court's time and the taxpayers' money," Mr. Namei wrote in his motion.
Prosecutors, however, said they are considering new charges of sexual battery and theft in office.
Assistant county prosecutor Heather Russell said the sexual battery accusation is connected to his alleged relationship with the clerk. She did not say what evidence might support a charge of theft in office.
The judge told prosecutors to decide soon whether to take the matter to a grand jury. He said he would rule on the motion to dismiss no later than Nov. 20.
During Mr. Keenan's previous two trials, jurors failed to reach unanimous verdicts on any of the charges. A juror in the first trial said the panel voted 11-1 to convict. Jurors in the second trial would not discuss their vote.
