Clermont County judge under investigation for alleged affair with employee

The Clermont County Sheriff's Office has opened an investigation into an alleged affair between Municipal Court Judge Jesse Kramig and a 25-year-old administrative assistant.

The sheriff's office received a complaint July 14 about Kramig, 42, engaging in sexual activities "on duty, in the closet" from the assistant's husband's aunt.

The Enquirer reached out to both Kramig and the assistant, Allison Kersker, with phone calls and emails but did not receive a response. Kersker's husband and his aunt also did not respond.

Kramig's lawyer, Scott Croswell, said the allegations are unfounded.

"We only cared that it's happening during work hours. She's a very pretty girl, but this just seems so wrong to me," Kersker's in-law told Captain Chris Allen, according to video footage of the interview at the sheriff's office, which The Enquirer obtained through a public records request.

Kramig, a Republican, was appointed to the municipal court in 2016. He previously worked in the Ohio Attorney General's Office and as an assistant prosecutor in Hamilton County and Clermont County. He is married and has two children.

He is running for reelection this November to the $148,775-a-year position. One of three municipal court judges, he will be unopposed, according to the candidates filed with the Clermont County Board of Elections.

"If there's something going on, people should know. We're gonna vote for this man. No one's running against him so it doesn't matter but you vote for him. And he's sleeping with his staff member? It's just crazy to me," Kersker's in-law said to Allen.

Relatives of the court employee's husband expressed concern

Kersker's in-law told Allen that Kramig engaged in sexual activity in the closet, in his chambers and in a car in the parking lot. She said the two messaged each other via LinkedIn and Kersker was worried the bailiff was suspicious.

She said Kersker received more than $12,000 in raises since she was hired in 2021. An Enquirer review of court employee personnel files confirmed this but also shows another administrative assistant in the court received the same raises on the same dates.

Kersker's mother-in-law left a voicemail for the court administrator asking another municipal court judge, Jason Nagel, to respond to Kersker's husband before she contacted news organizations.

"We're not getting answers from you. I gave you plenty of time to contact me and I have not heard back from you. So we are going to do whatever we need to do to get answers," she said.

Nagel said in an email that he was told Kersker's mother-in-law came into the courthouse during his morning docket. He said she asked what was going to happen to Kramig and Kersker's jobs and he did not contact her.

"I have no reason to talk to family members about employment decisions, and judges are elected officials and not subject to discipline or termination by another judge," Nagel said. "Allison remains an excellent employee of the court, and we are happy to have her."

Is the alleged behavior illegal?

It's unclear if the alleged behavior would constitute sexual harassment under Ohio law. Clermont County Chief Deputy Chris Stratton said the investigation has been referred to the Warren County Sheriff's Office. In response to a request for any reports related to the investigation, the Warren County Sheriff's Office sent a form saying the matter is pending investigation.

The employee code of conduct for Clermont County Municipal Court prohibits any romantic relationships between an employee and a person the employee directly or indirectly supervises. The code defines a romantic relationship as "marriage or a relationship between two persons that is amorous and extends beyond mere social interaction.”

What was the court's response?

Kersker's husband thought things were off with his wife so when he left for work June 27, he left an old cell phone on and recording audio in their house, according to his aunt's account to the sheriff's office. He told his aunt that 10 minutes later, Kersker called her friend and began talking about the affair. Her husband confronted her about it that night.

Kersker's in-law said the next day, June 28, Kersker didn't go in to work and Court Administrator Stephanie Bohrer came to her house to check on her. Her husband played the recording for Bohrer and she went back to the courthouse and told the officials there about the situation, Kersker's in-law said.

The Enquirer reached out to Bohrer to confirm these events and ask if the court started an internal investigation. Bohrer said she can't answer any questions regarding the situation.

Kersker's time sheet, obtained through a public records request, does show that she took June 28 off as a personal day.

According to Kersker's in-law's account, Nagel told Kersker to come in the office and meet with him on June 29. She said Nagel also met with Kramig separately and he told Kersker she needed to find another job but she could continue working at the court until she found one.

Nagel said this is untrue and that the first time he spoke with Kersker after learning about the alleged affair was July 5. He said he met with Kersker, Bohrer and Judge Anita Bechmmann.

"I told her she would not be fired or redirected, that she is a valued employee and to let any of the three of us know if anyone pressured her to leave her job," he said. "We had that conversation because Allison had told Judge Bechmann the week before that she was afraid she would have to find another job, and we wanted to reassure her that was not true."

State bureau declined to take over the investigation

Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve requested a special prosecutor to investigate allegations in a court filing on July 12, just after Enquirer media partner Fox19 submitted a records request related to Kramig and Kersker, according to Fox19's reporting.

The court filing said that Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell was appointed to investigate "allegations involving J/A." The first names of the alleged parties mentioned in the sheriff's office report are Jesse and Allison.

Fornshell said he does not comment on special prosecutor appointments "unless something ever comes of it."

Allen, with the Clermont County Sheriff's Office, asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to look into the allegations on July 18.

A BCI investigation would demonstrate transparency and "foster public confidence in the fairness of our institutions," Allen said in a letter to the bureau. The bureau declined the request. Special Agent Supervisor Jeffrey Cook said the bureau evaluates requests for assistance on a case-by-case basis based on the offense, availability of evidence, solvability factors and prosecution concerns and limitations.

Erin Glynn is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Glynn's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@enquirer.com to find out how you can help fund her work. 

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at eglynn@enquirer.com and follow her on Twitter at @ee_glynn.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Clermont County judge investigated for alleged affair with employee