Thursday, January 7, 1999
Rape charges dropped against ex-chief
Two previous trials ended in deadlock
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Thomas Keenan
|
With a third trial just weeks away, prosecutors agreed Wednesday to drop the rape charges against former Harrison Police Chief Thomas Keenan.
The decision came nearly one year after Mr. Keenan was first accused of groping and fondling a female clerk at the city's police station.
His first two trials ended without verdicts when the jurors declared they were hopelessly deadlocked.
“The nightmare is finally over,” said Firooz Namei, one of the lawyers who represented him at both trials. “He's delighted.”
Prosecutor Joseph Deters, who leaves to become state treasurer next week, said he dropped the case because he wanted to spare the alleged victim the ordeal of another trial.
“The victim in this case has gone through great trauma and we will not subject her to any further trauma,” Mr. Deters said in a written statement. “It is not in the interest of justice or in the interest of this victim to continue this case.”
The announcement effectively closed a case that has stirred controversy in Harrison since the former chief was indicted last January on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition.
Prosecutors have said Mr. Keenan, who was fired after his arrest, used his position of authority to force the clerk to write him sexually explicit love letters.
On different occasions, they said, Mr. Keenan fondled the woman and then warned her not to tell anyone. The alleged victim, who is not being named, testified at the trials that she feared losing her job if she complained about Mr. Keenan.
Defense attorneys, however, have argued that his accuser is an emotionally unstable woman who wrote the letters because she is obsessed with the former chief.
During both trials, defense attorneys showed jurors the letters and displayed a variety of gifts the woman had given him.
Although Mr. Keenan declined comment Wednesday, Mr. Namei said his client believes his political enemies talked the woman into pursuing the charges because they wanted to discredit him.
Asked if Mr. Keenan would seek reinstatement as police chief, Mr. Namei said that “may be politically impossible.”
He did, however, say that the $5 million civil lawsuit Mr. Keenan filed last year against the city could be amended to include a complaint about his loss of employment.
A trial in the civil case is scheduled to begin in August.
Regardless of his future employment, defense attorneys said Mr. Keenan was “extremely relieved” by the prosecution's decision to drop the charges.
Originally indicted on two counts of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition, Mr. Keenan could have faced more than 20 years in prison.
He spent 35 days in jail after his arrest and has remained confined to his home on an electronic monitoring system for the past 11 months.
“It's been a miserable year,” said Pete Rosenwald, the attorney Mr. Keenan hired after his last trial. “The best thing for him now would be to move forward with his life.”
Mr. Rosenwald would not discuss whether prosecutors had attempted to resolve the case with a plea bargain prior to their decision to drop the charges.
“The important thing here is that the state of Ohio chose to dismiss this case,” Mr. Rosenwald said. “We're pleased we don't have to go through a third trial.”
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