March 22, 2026\u2022Published 5:00 PM EDT, Updated 5:34 PM EDTFACT-CHECKEDSummary<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Republish<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bill that Ohio Republicans say will protect children from indecent exposure counts among its 42 cosponsors a lawmaker whose own conduct toward a minor was described as \u201cconcerning and suspicious\u201d by the prosecutor who reviewed a state investigation into his behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n State Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) is a cosponsor of House Bill 249<\/a>, the Indecent Exposure Modernization Act. The bill, which is scheduled for a fourth hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on March 25 with a possible vote, would update Ohio\u2019s public indecency statutes, tighten penalties for exposure involving minors, and ban what it defines as \u201cadult cabaret performances\u201d in locations where minors may be present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creech was accused in 2023 by a minor female relative of climbing into bed with her while erect and wearing only his underwear, according to Bureau of Criminal Investigation documents obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau<\/a>. Text messages showed the minor complaining that Creech had been rubbing her legs and grabbing her waist, according to NBC4<\/a>. Creech admitted to investigators he had gotten into bed with the minor in his underwear but denied the sexual nature of the allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll, brought in as a special prosecutor, declined to file charges but wrote that Creech\u2019s \u201cbehavior during the time of the investigation was concerning and suspicious,\u201d according to documents reported by the Dayton Daily News<\/a>. Creech has called the allegations \u201cdemonstrably false.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The allegations were initially brought to the Preble County Sheriff\u2019s Department in July 2023, but no investigation was opened. Both the sheriff and then-Prosecutor Martin Votel \u2014 personal friends of Creech \u2014 later recused themselves. Five months after Votel was credited by the sheriff with turning away the allegations, Creech donated $4,100 to Votel\u2019s judicial campaign \u2014 accounting for roughly 75% of Votel\u2019s total fundraising, according to the Dayton Daily News<\/a>. Votel, now a Preble County Common Pleas Court judge, denied any impropriety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The contradiction was raised publicly during committee testimony on March 19. Danielle Firsich, the Director of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood of Ohio, directly challenged the premise that the bill would protect children while Creech remained a cosponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI also don\u2019t want to be lectured about when it comes to what is obscene or not to children,\u201d Firsich said, according to video reported by Heartland Signal<\/a>. \u201cYou have a man who was just put back on his committees, who was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, who is a sponsor on this bill. You all let him have his committee privileges back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creech\u2019s cosponsorship is not new. He was also a cosponsor of the bill\u2019s predecessor, HB 245, in 2023, according to the Journal-News<\/a>. That bill died in committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your support powers independent, ad-free journalism in Northwest Ohio. Join hundreds of readers who make our work possible.Support Us \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaker Matt Huffman stripped Creech of all four committee assignments in May 2025 and asked him to resign. Creech refused. In February, Huffman reversed course, restoring Creech\u2019s committee assignments<\/a> and signing a letter requesting the Ohio Republican Party endorse Creech for re-election. The party obliged. Creech is running for what would be his fourth and final term representing House District 40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HB 249\u2019s primary sponsors are Reps. Angela King (R-Celina) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.). King protested an LGBTQ+ Pride event in her district in 2023 alongside members of the Aryan Freedom Network, a neo-Nazi group, according to the Buckeye Flame<\/a>, which photographed her at the event. Williams also sponsors HB 693<\/a>, which would write the concept of \u201cparental alienation\u201d into state law \u2014 the same term Creech used to publicly dismiss his own daughter\u2019s statements<\/a> about the alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond its indecent exposure provisions, HB 249 broadens the definition of \u201cadult cabaret performance\u201d to include \u201cperformers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer\u2019s or entertainer\u2019s biological sex using clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, or other physical markers.\u201d LGBTQ+ organizations, the ACLU, and drag performers who testified against the bill<\/a> say the language would effectively ban drag performances, Pride parades, and other expressions of gender nonconformity from any venue where a child might be present. Williams disputes this characterization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Firsich also pointed to King\u2019s proximity to neo-Nazis at the 2023 Pride protest, according to Cleveland Scene<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also listed among HB 249\u2019s cosponsors: Rep. Phil Plummer (R-Butler Township), who told BCI investigators that comments Creech made about the allegations were \u201cdisgusting, uncalled for, and appalling,\u201d according to records reported by the Dayton Daily News<\/a>; Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), who also sponsors HB 693<\/a>; and Huffman himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\ud83d\udc99Keep stories like this coming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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