COLUMBUS — Ohio’s top law enforcement official says the felony indictment of the sheriff in Pike County will not impact the investigation into the gruesome 2016 slayings of eight members of a family.
Sheriff Charles Reader “was not the primary witness for any issue of fact or law” in the capital murder case against members of one family charged with the deaths of eight members of the Rhoden family, attorney general David Yost said in a statement released Friday.
A grand jury issued a 16-count indictment against Reader the same day on felony charges including theft in office and evidence-tampering.
Reader’s office issued a statement saying neither the sheriff nor his office would comment on the indictment, which includes misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charges alleging Reader sought or accepted thousands of dollars in loans from employees of his office and a county vendor.
Reader’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
A prosecutor from Ohio Auditor Keith Faber’s office is handling the case.
A statement from Faber says the charges followed a long investigation and that public officials must be held accountable.