Clark County public defender arrested on public indecency charge

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A Clark County public defender was arrested Friday morning on a charge accusing him of engaging in a sex act with another man in Buck Creek State Park.

Ronald E. Morris and the other man, identified as Jeffrey Edwards, were both charged with public indecency. Both appeared in Clark County Municipal Court on Monday and entered not guilty pleas.

Morris earned nearly $85,000 as a public defender last year.

The following account is from the ODNR officer’s report:

While the officer was on patrol around 9:30 a.m. Sept. 30 in the Hickory Knoll/Oak Grove Picnic area of the park, located in Moorefield Twp., he observed two men later identified as Morris and Edwards walk into the woods. That area of the park is known for public indecency.

The officer walked toward the trail that he’d seen the men on, looked through his binoculars and observed Edwards performing a sex act on Morris. When the officer approached the men, Edwards initially attempted to walk away, and when he was ordered not to move he tried to approach the officer.

Edwards eventually complied with the officer’s orders and both men were taken into custody, booked into the Clark County Jail, and later released.

A message left at Morris’ home seeking comments was not returned Monday evening. Attempts to reach James D. Marshall, the county’s public defender director, were also unsuccessful.

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