LIMA — Ever since I read Brice Brenneman’s book “The Strange Case of Dr. Wine,” I have been dumbfounded by the obvious bias of Auglaize County Judge Fred Pepple. Judge Pepple recently continued his vendetta against Doug Wine, and took local judicial behavior to an all-time low.
Ohio allows a person to have their name removed from the sex offender registry if their offense was a misdemeanor and they do not “re-offend” for 10 years. Dr. Wine, who as anyone who has read the book knows is 100% innocent, paid for 15 hours of required counseling with a licensed psychiatrist. The psychiatrist, Scott Delong of Greenville, recommended that Wine’s name be removed from the registry. Doug was the seventh person he had provided such counseling for and the previous six had all been approved. But none of them had had to deal with Judge Pepple.
Someone in the Auglaize County probation department, without ever meeting or speaking to Doug Wine, his wife, his daughters, or anyone in Doug’s circle of acquaintances, magically produced a report that Pepple is using to refuse to take Wine off the registry. What could possibly be in this report?
WIMA, WLIO, Lima News, or anyone else in the local media. When will you do your job and shine a light on this disgraceful conduct by a local judge?
I will keep watching. What new levels will Judge Pepple stoop to?
Larry Esmonde
Lima
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