(Note: This story includes detailed reference to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. The Statehouse News Bureau does not identify sexual misconduct victims.)
An Ohio House lawmaker was removed from his committee assignments and told to quit nine months ago over allegations of his sexual abuse of a minor relative.
But he didn’t resign, and he’s since been reinstated to his committees.
That is because neither state or local authorities took action against Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria), said House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
“What I’ve concluded and I think most folks have concluded over the last 10 months is that none of that came to bear, that in fact these various allegations or statements,” Huffman said Wednesday, “many of those things either weren’t true, (it) wasn’t clear if they were true, and that in fact, there are no authorities taking any action.”
Creech, who has called the claims “demonstrably false,” said Thursday he is “stronger, wiser and more committed than ever.”
The minor, whom the Statehouse News Bureau won’t identify further, accused Creech in 2023 of climbing into bed and under the covers with them while erect, wearing only his underwear, according to Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) documents.
BCI began investigating the case in late 2023, months after the alleged incident occurred, because of a conflict of interest between Creech and several local sheriffs.
According to documents obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau, Creech told investigators he had gotten into bed with the minor in his underwear before but denied the sexual nature of the allegations, including that he touched them more than once.
The Clark County Prosecutors Office declined in October 2024 to escalate the investigation any further. At the time, Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll wrote in a letter to BCI that he believed Creech’s “behavior during the time of the investigation was concerning,” but that he was closing the case.
The resurfaced allegations prompted Huffman to boot Creech from four committees in May 2025, including by removing him as the committee chair of House Agriculture.
“(I) told him that this, on its face, was very serious and I did not think that he could fill out his duties effectively as a legislator,” Huffman said then. “Under the circumstances, I think it would be very difficult for him to do that, so I did ask him to consider resigning.”
As of February 2026, Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) remains the chair of the House agriculture committee.
