COLUMBUS – The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a state law making it a felony for a peace officer to have sex with a minor more than two years younger than the officer is unconstitutional.
In the case of a police officer from northeast Ohio who had a sexual encounter with a teenage girl, the court, the justices decided in a 4-3 vote that the provision in Ohio’s sexual battery statute applying to peace officers violates the equal protection clauses of the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor noted that provisions of the law that apply to teachers, clerics and mental health workers require there to be an “occupational relationship” with the minor while the peace officer provision applies even when there is no such work-related relationship between the officer and the victim.
The Court upheld a lower court’s decision which found the conviction of Waite Hill officer Matthew Mole, who was caught in a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl he met through a cell phone dating app, unconstitutional and overturned his two-year prison sentence.
The teen claimed to be 18 and a high school senior, but was 14 at the time. Mole was 35.