Fairfield man faces 12 new child sex charges

Zachary T. Clenney

Zachary T. Clenney

A Fairfield man indicted in August on sexual abuse charges involving minors is charged now with more sex crimes after the investigation revealed more alleged victims.

Zachary Clenney, 30, of the 2000 block of Casa Loma Drive, was indicted Aug. 7 by a Butler County grand jury for rape involving a victim under age 10, and a second count of rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and gross sexual imposition involving a victim under the age of 13, according to the indictment.

The crimes are part of a “continuous course of action” beginning in Hamilton County and ending in Butler County, according to court documents.

The alleged crimes happened from September 2007 to June of this year, the indictment says. That indictment involved two victims who were known to Clenney, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Christina Dattilo has been appointed a special prosecutor in Butler County to team up with county Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Heile to litigate the case.

Last month Heile said, “Whenever we have multiple victims there is always a concern that there is even more. So we would welcome anybody that has any information to come forward.”

On Sept 16, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Clenney that included the original charges as well as 12 counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition involved children under the ages of 10 and 13. The new charges allege crimes against four additional victims, according to the prosecutor’s office. The offenses were allegedly committed between September 2007 to June 2020.

During a pre-trial hearing after the new indictment was handed down, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer McElfresh increased Clenney bond from $200,000 to $1 million.

Clenney remains housed in the Butler County Jail and is scheduled to be back in court Oct. 29 for a pretrial hearing.

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