New Miami woman joins village council as felony record outcome is in dispute

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A New Miami woman began serving her term as a village councilwoman Thursday night while she awaits a ruling on whether a prior felony conviction will end her term prematurely.

Village Solicitor Dennis Adams confirmed that Megan Horn was sworn in, but he said previously that if her felony forgery conviction is not expunged, she will be removed from office.

Horn ran unopposed in the Nov. 5. election, winning a seat on the seven-member village council. She was indicted for felony theft and forgery in September 2009. She pleaded guilty to forgery and was ordered to pay $473.28 in restitution to Walmart.

She has asked the judge in that case to seal her record so she can hold office. Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Greg Stephens has scheduled a hearing on the motion for Feb. 3.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser opposes the expungement.

“This defendant is clearly a person who cannot be trusted and has no honor,” Gmoser’s office wrote in a court filing.

“The defendant has been convicted, twice, of offenses involving fraud and deceit for her own personal, monetary gains. This defendant cannot be trusted in a position that has the potential to be in control of public funds.”

Horn, who told the Journal-News previously she made some foolish mistakes 10 years ago, but she sought the council seat to make her community better and she intends to fulfill that promise.

“My kids are getting older to where we’ve had more friends and stuff coming over and just seeing where these kids, some of them are coming from, the children in our community need something to turn their life around before they’re headed down the same road as their parents. Period,” she said, adding she wants to seek grants and other resources to find those avenues, whether she is on council or not.

She faced a year-long prison term but was given five years of community control instead. Court records show her probation was “unsuccessfully terminated” in November 2014. Gmoser’s motion indicates she failed to pay $765.50 in court costs so her community control was deemed unsuccessful.

In his opposition motion, Gmoser informed Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens that Horn was arrested for and pleaded no contest to petty theft in Middletown Municipal Court in 2011, while she was on probation. She was fined $200, court costs and ordered to stay out of Walmart.

Horn filed a motion to seal her record with Stephens in December. She indicated she also has a criminal history in the Butler County Juvenile Court system but didn’t give any details. The standard form she filed out states, “I am rehabilitated, and the sealing of my conviction is consistent with the public interest.”

Prominent defense attorney Charlie M. Rittgers, who does not represent Horn, said neither the misdemeanor offense nor the probation problem would “impact her eligibility to seal her record” but it could influence the judge’s decision in this matter.

“A prosecutor has the right to oppose any request to seal and a judge has the discretion to deny the request even if a person is eligible,” Rittgers told the Journal-News. “That said, in my experience the request to seal a record is granted in the large majority of cases for eligible candidates.”

Newly elected Mayor Stephanie Chandler was also sworn in, but could not be reached for comment. Former Mayor Bob Henley has put in an application to be appointed to the council if Horn is removed. He said he won’t run for election again, but he still wants to serve his community.

“I love my little town, I want to be involved and regardless of what was said about me, you know ‘nothing’s been done in six years,’ this is all being said by people that never come to a council meeting,” Henley told the Journal-News. “They don’t know what gets done. There’s a lot of things that get done that everybody doesn’t see. When you have limited finances there’s only so many things you can do.”

Chandler won the November mayoral election by a 63 to 37 percent margin.

In the tiny village of about 2,250 residents only 220 people cast ballots. Henley has been on the village council in some capacity since 2008.

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