A candidate for magistrate in Putnam County should be removed from the ballot because he has been convicted of several misdemeanors, some of which include “moral turpitude,” the state Judicial Investigation Commission said in a petition filed Monday.
The commission made its recommendation to the state Supreme Court, which will ultimately decide if Troy Sexton should be removed from the ballot. Sexton is one of three people running for the magistrate spot in Putnam County.
The petition notes that state law requires magistrates to be 21 years old, a resident of the county, have a high school diploma or its equivalent and not be convicted of “any felony or any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.”
Although the state Legislature has never defined the phrase “moral turpitude,” according to the filing, the Supreme Court has stated that moral turpitude has been defined as conduct that is “contrary to justice, honesty and good morals.”
Members of the commission voted 9-0 that Sexton should be removed from the ballot, according to the petition, which was filed by Teresa Tarr, counsel for the JIC.
In 2009, Sexton was charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery against his children, who were 6 years old at the time. According to the document, Sexton picked his son up and threw him on the ground after the boy performed poorly during football practice. He grabbed his other son by the ankle, dragged him across the field and threw him over a fence, the document says. Sexton also cursed at a bystander who tried to intervene, according to the filing.
Sexton, who pleaded no contest to the charges, said Monday that Child Protective Services investigated him that day and found the allegations to be false.
“Yes, what I did was wrong,” Sexton said. “This was totally blown up by the county and the press. My kids are not abused.”
Sexton was eventually sentenced to 18 total months in jail on the two charges, although all but 30 days of the sentence were suspended.
The following year, Sexton was charged with making harassing phone calls to a woman. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 days in jail, according to the JIC filing.
In January 2014, Sexton was charged with falsely reporting an emergency incident, the filing says. A criminal complaint says Sexton called 911 and told dispatchers his children were dead and that he had molested and beaten them. Officials arrived at his home, detained Sexton and found his children were healthy and alive, according to the filing.
“This crime involves intentional dishonesty,” the JIC filing reads. “Since moral turpitude is inherent in crimes involving intentional dishonesty, this Court should find that the crime of filing a false emergency report is a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.”
Sexton said Monday there was a long back story to the incident. He said police had previously wasted time searching his house, so he simply wanted to waste their time of his own accord.
Sexton, who pleaded guilty to the charge in March 2014, was fined $93.54 and sentenced to 90 days in jail; the jail sentence was suspended.
About two weeks after he pleaded guilty to that charge, Sexton was charged with driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty in July 2014 and was sentenced to time served and fined $100.
The JIC also noted that Sexton has been convicted of misdemeanors twice in Ohio. In June 2008, he was charged with disorderly conduct while intoxicated and resisting arrest at a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. He pleaded guilty to the disorderly conduct charge, and the other charge was dismissed, according to the filing.
Sexton was banned from Great American Ball Park for life — but he returned in June 2014, after “threatening to go there and 'shatter lives,'” the filing reads. He was indicted by an Ohio grand jury on a felony charge of burglary, but pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass. He was fined $250 and sentenced to six months of “non-reporting community control.”
In its filing, the JIC “asserts that the cumulative nature of the charges is indicative of someone whose criminal conduct is 'contrary to justice, honesty and good morals,' and therefore constitutes misdemeanors involving moral turpitude.”
“JIC is going to say you apparently can't run for magistrate because of this,” Sexton said. “It's garbage.”
An investigator for the JIC was told by Putnam County Clerk Brian Wood that Sexton, when he came in to file pre-candidacy or candidacy papers, said he did not think he would be on the ballot for long because of moral turpitude issues, according to the filing. Wood declined comment on Monday.
Last December, former Putnam County magistrate Scot Lawrence resigned and was publicly admonished by the JIC for his conduct during a hearing involving Sexton. After Sexton had insulted Lawrence and police officers, Lawrence — a former State Police trooper — took control of the prosecution's case and eventually challenged Sexton to a fight. Sexton recorded part of the hearing and put it online.
Regardless of his past misdemeanors, Sexton said he is still qualified to run for magistrate.
“They're scared to death somebody like me is going to win,” Sexton said. “I would do the job properly. It would be done right and people would like me in the community. I'm not part of the little clique they have up there.”
Earl Gorrell and Jean Anne Luikart are running against Sexton for the magistrate spot. Two other Putnam magistrates, Kylene Dunlap Brown and Linda Hunt, are running for re-election with no opposition on the ballot.
Reach Laura Haight at laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @laurahaight_ on Twitter.
Members of the Gazette and Daily Mail editorial boards are meeting with candidates for Putnam magistrate at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8. Propose some questions for us or follow along: