Suspended sheriff agrees to plea deal, sex charge to be dismissed

WAPAKONETA — Embattled Shelby County Sheriff Dean Kimpel, who was suspended from office after he was indicted on a sexual battery charge, has reached a deal with prosecutors to have the case dismissed.Kimpel was suspended last fall after the indictment in Auglaize County. Former Shelby County deputy Jodi Van Fossen alleged Kimpel sexually assaulted her at her Wapakoneta-area home in July 2010.A grand jury in Shelby County also indicted Kimpel on charges he illegally used the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway to look up information on Van Fossen and others. On Friday, Kimpel pleaded guilty in Shelby County to an amended charged of unauthorized use of a computer in exchange for four other computer charges being dismissed. Kimpel faces up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine when he is sentenced in June.At a separate hearing later Friday in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court, prosecutors and Kimpel’s attorney, Michael Rumer, reiterated the intent to dismiss the case.The parties had earlier this month been in the Wapakoneta courtroom on a motion from Kimpel’s attorneys to dismiss the case on the grounds he believed he had immunity when he spoke to investigators as part of an internal affairs investigation and subsequent criminal investigations.Kimpel alleged that so-called Garrity warnings were given that said he could lose his job if he didn’t answer questions but that no answers would be used in any subsequent criminal proceedings.Assistant Special Prosecutor Anthony Kendall argued the Garrity warnings apply to employees not necessarily to elected officials. Kendall and investigators had also argued Kimpel was given Miranda warnings and knew anything he said could be used against him.Auglaize County Common Pleas Court Judge Frederick Pepple on Friday denied that motion.The formal dismissal of the sexual battery case was delayed until after Kimpel is sentenced in Shelby County. The delay is so Kimpel will be able to formally resign from office. The move was necessitated because Kimpel’s suspension from office stems from the Auglaize County case.You can comment on this story online at www.limaohio.com.