PIKE – After an indictment filed with the Ohio Supreme Court involving 16 counts of theft, tampering, and other charges, and many times Sheriff Reader pleading not guilty. Former Sheriff Charles Reade pleads guilty in September 2020 to five charges including tampering with records, theft in office, and conflict of interest.
In Reader’s filing to the Ohio Supreme Court, he stated that his ongoing criminal case has adversely affected his duties involving ongoing criminal cases.
According to documents in the case Reader requested and accepted loans from people he worked with including people underneath him and vendors who were paid through the office. Reader claimed he racked up 17,000 in gambling debts, between 2016 and 2018.
Reader later claimed that stress from the Rhoden Family murder case kept him up late at night where he was alone and gambled money.
Reader who has appeared in court several times since July 2019, has now admitted guilt and According to court documents, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft in office, two counts of tampering with evidence, and conflict of interest.
According to Fox19 News Now, Reader was sentenced to 1 year for each of the two counts of theft in office, two years for year two counts of theft in office, and 6 months for conflict of interest. These charges will run consecutively, at a minimum of 3 years of prison. He will also have 3 years of community control after he is released.
“You have made a mockery of law enforcement, everyday people from law enforcement get up knowing that they may not come home from their jobs. You take a oath in your job,” said the Judge.
