Chad Essert is charged with 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of sexual conduct with a minor.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — An Ohio police chief faces dozens of felony sexual battery charges after being arrested in Pinellas County Thursday night.
Chad Essert, 44, is the police chief in Bethel, Ohio, located about 30 miles east of Cincinnati.
The sheriff’s office in Clermont County, Ohio announced Essert’s indictment Thursday. He faces a total of 70 felony charges, including 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
This story continues below.
If convicted, Essert could be sentenced to up to 280 years in prison.
According to Clermont County deputies, the offenses occurred between 2005 and 2010 while Essert was an instructor for the Young Marines program and a teacher at a local college. The victim was one of Essert’s students.
Essert was taken into custody by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday evening in Seminole. He remains in custody at the Pinellas County Jail, awaiting extradition to Clermont County.
It’s unclear why Essert was in Florida at the time of his arrest.
Clermont County authorities are urging anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Essert to contact law enforcement at 513-732-7313.