By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - A special prosecutor, retained to investigate a sexual-harassment complaint against a Warren County judge, also will be investigating why one female court employee received hundreds of hours in overtime pay since January, officials said Tuesday.

County Judge Dallas P. Powers, who was out of the office and didn't return messages left on his cell phone Tuesday, is the focus of an investigation by Adams County Prosecutor David A. Kelley.

Kelley met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the investigation with county commissioners. They requested a special prosecutor last week after Powers' colleague, County Judge James L. Heath, reported a court employee's complaint to county commissioners.

Unlike the much-publicized case of Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen, who is accused in a lawsuit of sometimes coercing sex from a female employee during a 31/2-year extramarital affair, the complaint against Powers centers on several employees' allegations that they saw and heard the judge behave inappropriately with another person in the office, creating a sexually charged atmosphere, Heath explained Tuesday.

"The environment was uncomfortable for them," Heath said, declining to elaborate because of the pending investigation. Kelley's investigation could take up to two months to complete, Commissioner Larry Crisenbery said.

Crisenbery said he didn't know details about the accusations against the 69-year-old judge. Since 1988, Powers has been a judge in the county court, deciding cases from Warren County's rural sections, Hamilton Township and Springboro.

Heath said he had previously heard courthouse discussions about Powers' office conduct, but never heard anything specific until Aug. 30. An employee telephoned Heath and described a situation that she considered unacceptable. Heath said he followed the county's sexual harassment reporting policy and shared the employee's complaint with County Commission President Pat South. She did not return telephone messages Tuesday, nor did Kelley. In a letter to South last Thursday, Heath recapped his Sept. 1 conversation with South, which involved "several allegations (against Powers) which may constitute sexual harassment." The letter revealed no details.

But Tuesday, Heath said he believed Kelley would be reviewing employees' overtime pay as part of his investigation. County payroll records obtained by the Enquirer show one female court employee has received more than 400 hours of overtime pay since January, while her three co-workers received a combined total of fewer than 100 hours. The employee who received the most overtime asked a reporter to leave her office Tuesday; the employee who complained to Heath also wouldn't discuss the matter.

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Erica Solvig contributed to this report.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com