Former Sugar Grove police chief pleads guilty

LANCASTER – Former Sugar Grove Police Chief Christopher C. Venrick apologized for violating the public’s trust when he illegally searched several women’s names in the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway.

In court Tuesday for a plea hearing on the incidents, Venrick, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and has had some memory impairment as a result, told Fairfield County Judge Richard E. Berens that he couldn’t remember his mindset or why he decided to search the women’s names in OHLEG to begin with.

“I do accept responsibility,” Venrick said. “I don’t recall all of it.”

“I wish I did,” he added later about recalling the events. “I would love to be more open.”

The police database, or OHLEG, is an electronic database containing sensitive information — including Social Security numbers and criminal and traffic history, among other data — that is accessible only by law enforcement officers. The database is controlled by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Venrick is accused of illegally using the database 18 times: once in in 2011, once in 2012, 12 times in 2013 and four times in 2014.

Venrick was charged with 16 counts of unlawful use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, fifth-degree felonies, for each of those searches. However, all but one of Venrick’s charges were dismissed as a result of his guilty plea Tuesday. The remaining charge was then lowered to a first-degree misdemeanor of unauthorized use of property.

Venrick resigned in June 2014 amid personal issues, and he was ordered to surrender his Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy certification as a result of his guilty plea Tuesday. He also was sentenced to 180 days in Fairfield County Jail, suspended in lieu of two years of reporting community control, and must pay a $500 fine. During his two-year probation period, Venrick is not allowed to act in any kind of law enforcement capacity.

Special Prosecutor William Archer Jr., who was called in to handle the case to avoid any conflict of interest, said no direct harm came to any of the women as a result of these searches. However, investigators did contact the women involved, and some of them said Venrick reached out to them via social media, but they did not know who he was.

Berens concluded later on in the hearing that Venrick did so only to “advance (Venrick’s) own personal interest.”

Venrick was one of two officers accused of improperly using OHLEG in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s case. Venrick and former Sugar Grove Sgt. Terry P. Moore, 36, were both indicted April 10. Moore’s case is still pending.

Moore is accused of using OHLEG, which should be accessed only to search identities of people involved in ongoing investigations, 16 times illegally from September 2012 to March 2014. The difference between Venrick and Moore’s accusations was that Moore also is accused of profiting from searching names in the database.

Moore is facing two additional charges in connection to the search profits, including telecommunications fraud and theft in office.

Moore’s trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 5.

sroush@lancastereaglegazette.com

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Twitter: @SpencerRoushLEG