Ohio Speaker Stephens asks Rep. Bob Young of Green to resign amid domestic violence charges

Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens is asking state Rep. Bob Young to resign amid multiple criminal charges, including domestic violence, that allegedly occurred at Young's residence following a GOP fundraiser last week.

Stephens said he attended the fundraiser and an invitation-only after-party at Young's house but left before the alleged criminal activity occurred.

Authorities issued a warrant for Young's arrest Friday. Barberton Judge Todd McKinney dismissed the warrant Saturday when Young appeared with his attorney in court for an arraignment on two misdemeanor counts of first-degree domestic violence and a fourth-degree felony charge of disrupting public service. The 42-year-old lawmaker secured his release with $520, or 10% of the $5,000 bond plus fees.

In a criminal affidavit released to the Beacon Journal on Monday, investigators with the sheriff's office allege that Young struck a female relative with an open hand at his house and, at another residence, rammed a male family member who "did sustain cuts from broken glass."

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Young's lawyer, John Greven, said there will be no comment at this time.

"This is going to be decided in court, not in the newspapers," Greven said when reached by phone Monday.

The allegations of domestic violence, according to the affidavit and an official familiar with the case, occurred at separate locations.

The alleged face slap occurred about 1 a.m. Friday at Young's residence on Greensburg Road. When a woman tried calling the police, investigators allege that Young committed a felony of disrupting public service by throwing the cellphone into the swimming pool behind his house.

The second incident occurred around 9 a.m. at an undisclosed residence belonging to another family member, according to the official. At this location, the criminal affidavit says Young caused "physical harm" to the male relative "by lowering his shoulder and charging at him."

A Summit County grand jury will determine whether to indict the two-term state representative on the felony disrupting public service charge. If indicted, the misdemeanor domestic violence charges could be heard with the felony case at the Summit County courthouse. If the grand jury decides not to indict on the felony charge, the misdemeanors could return to the municipal court in Barberton.

A felony conviction would prevent Young from serving as a state representative.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office initially denied a request Monday to release records, including notes from responding officers, witness statements and body-worn camera footage. The sheriff later agreed to release the records by the end of the day Monday, including a police report that the sheriff's office said was not yet completed.

Those records were not released by the time this story went to print.

A Beacon Journal reporter was unsuccessful in contacting the two alleged victims Monday morning, which included efforts to knock on doors.

Political fallout ensues

The unfolding scandal sent local Republican circles into a frenzy Friday as elected officials who attended the joint fundraiser Thursday evening at the Tudor House in New Franklin with Young and Speaker Stephens called to warn others about the potential fallout of being associated with Young.

By Sunday, when asked by the Beacon Journal for comment, Stephens publicly called for Young's resignation so Young could "focus on his family at this time."

Judge McKenney and his wife, County Councilwoman Bethany McKenney, attended the GOP fundraiser but were not invited to Young's house for the after-party, Judge McKenney said.

Some critics are questioning whether Judge McKenney should have any role in Young's case. The two men sat together as honorary judges of a pie contest on July 4. If the case comes back to his courtroom, the judge said he would find someone else to handle it. But, partly due to the fact that Judge Dianna Stevenson's appointment to the bench last month didn't take effect until Monday, he had no visiting judge to assign to the largely procedural matter Saturday.

"It was only an arraignment," McKenney said. "All I was able to do was take a not guilty plea from him. So, I could not have decided his case."

McKenney said he checked with the law director and prosecutor before setting a "typical bond" of $5,000 for such cases. McKenney also informed Young that he would need to be booked at the Summit County Jail following the hearing.

Young explained that he would like to stay at his home. But McKenney called one of the victims and confirmed that Young would have to find someplace else to stay as a condition of the temporary restraining order, which is in effect during the course of the case.

The political irony of the situation is that Young, along with the Ohio Republican Party, is being sued for defamation over 2020 campaign attack ads that claimed Young's Democratic rival was "guilty" of domestic violence 20 years earlier when a police report at the time stated there was no evidence to support the claim.

'Disappointed and shocked to hear what allegedly transpired'

After the fundraiser, according to a person familiar with the case, Young and his wife returned home to host the speaker and friends at their sprawling Greensburg Road property, which includes a guesthouse and garage by the pool in the backyard and a nearly life-size statue of an elephant in the front yard.

In a statement to the Beacon Journal, Stephens said he spent a couple hours at Young's home on Greensburg Road before staying the night at a local hotel.

"I was disappointed and shocked to hear what allegedly transpired sometime after I had left the Young house," Stephens said of the allegations of domestic violence. "Although I believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, I asked Bob for his resignation as state representative so he can focus on his family at this time."

Young is alleged to have yelled at someone at his home, the person familiar with the case said. When a woman interjected, Young allegedly slapped her.

Police were called to the relative's house following an alleged altercation at the front door, where the criminal affidavit says Young tried to force entry. Young was gone when deputies arrived.

That's when the arrest warrant was issued Friday.

Young, who formerly served on Green City Council, is serving a second term in the Ohio House of Representatives from the 32nd District in southern Summit County. His official House biography says he "married his Green High School sweetheart, Tina, and they have four school-age children. They have built their life together with their family and reside in the City of Green."

Young was one of just 22 of the 67 Republicans in the Ohio House to elect Stephens speaker in January. That vote upset the Ohio GOP, which had expressed their official support for Toledo-area Rep. Derek Merrin.

The state party later passed a resolution to censure the 22 Republicans who joined all 32 Democrats in the House to elect Stephens, a move the state party said brought dishonor to the conservatives who elected Ohio's Republican supermajority. Stephens and the GOP lawmakers who supported his speakership have been mocked by conservatives as the "Blue 22" for siding with Democrats.

Young sued for 'false' domestic violence attack ads

While facing criminal charges of domestic violence, Young is also being sued for running ads in 2020 that accused his then opponent, Matt Shaughnessy, of being "guilty" of domestic violence 20 years earlier.

But Shaughnessy was never on trial or even charged for domestic violence. And police never found any physical evidence that the attorney had committed domestic violence against his ex-wife.

"She made some complaints, and they were unfounded," Shaughnessy said Sunday of the allegations made against him in October 2000. "And there’s not much I can do about that. It happened 20-some years ago. The police never saw any evidence of anything. They never made an arrest. In fact, oddly enough, I was able to continue trick-or-treating festivities with my children.

"A lot of it didn’t make sense," said Shaughnessy, whose defamation lawsuit against Young also goes after the Ohio Republican Party for running ads in newspapers and on Facebook. "But (Young) actually turned around and told people I was guilty.”

For the past two decades, Shaughnessy, who like Young is a former Green councilman, has worked to help domestic violence victims recoup economic losses. His defamation lawsuit is ongoing. In February, Young and his campaign filed a motion denying that the ads were false or defamatory.

Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Rep. Bob Young charged with domestic violence, misconduct