A Lucas County grand jury on Monday indicted an Ottawa Hills school district employee on multiple rape and other sexual assault offenses involving multiple teenage victims.
Ronald “Donnie” Stevens, 38, of Ottawa Hills was arrested Monday and indicted with six counts of rape, a first-degree felony; six counts of sexual battery, a third-degree felony; and seven counts of gross sexual imposition, a fourth-degree felony. According to the indictment, the conduct stems from Aug. 1, 2017 through Nov. 9, 2019.
The Ottawa Hills Police Department said in a statement that additional charges are expected.
Mr. Stevens, manager of operations for the district, also has coached a number of youth baseball teams in the area. He has worked for the district for 18 years in a number of roles, Superintendent of Schools Adam Fineske said.
He is not a coach for the district, but has in the past coached youth baseball teams affiliated with the Ottawa Hills Office of Village Life, Mr. Fineske said.
According to an incident report, Ottawa Hills police were first contacted Dec. 10 about Mr. Stevens by Lucas County Children Services.
“Safety of students is our top priority,” Mr. Fineske said in a statement Monday. “As soon as the district was notified of the allegations, the district immediately placed Mr. Stevens on administrative leave and prohibited him from entering school property. He has not been allowed back since.”
The district announced Sunday that an employee was under investigation. Mr. Fineske said on Monday the district learned about the allegations from Children Services, and that the district has not received a direct complaint about Mr. Stevens, nor has the district received any sort of complaints about similar misconduct by Mr. Stevens in the past.
“As the students, District, and community continue to cope with this difficult news, the District’s focus remains on providing an educational environment where students are safe and secure,” Mr. Fineske wrote Monday. “As students return to school on January 6, 2020, we will have counselors available for any student who wishes to talk about the allegations or any other matter.”
Mr Stevens remained in custody Monday night at the Lucas County jail and could not be reached for comment. A message was left for him at his home on Sunday. A message was left on Monday for a local attorney who was outside Mr. Stevens’ Bancroft Street home while Ottawa Hills police, University of Toledo police, and agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation converged to search the property.
Ottawa Hills Police Chief John Wenzlick said Mr. Stevens coached in “house leagues,” teams organized by parents, which the Office of Village Life helps facilitate by collecting registration money and ensuring that the teams adhere to protocols required to use public facilities, such as running background checks or having protocols for concussions.
Mr. Stevens is also a district appointment to the Ottawa Hills Joint Recreation Board, which was created by the Ottawa Hills Village Council and school board to develop policies and procedures for the use of recreational facilities.
Chief Wenzlick said he believed Mr. Stevens’ term expires at the end of this year.
In a letter to parents this weekend that circulated on social media, baseball organization Demand Command Toledo said it was shocked at the allegations, and “are struggling to look back and see any indicators of potential problems.”
Mr. Stevens brought an existing team to the organization for the spring-summer 2019 season, after the team performed well, the organization said. Demand Command severed ties with him when it learned of the allegations.
“Prior to the knowledge of this incident, Mr. Stevens had nothing in his background that raised a red flag to us or apparently the school that employed him, church he was involved with or other organizations that sought him out to coach,” the organization wrote. “We are sickened by what we have been made aware of so far and are heartbroken for the victims that have come forward.”
Demand Command said it will hold meetings for parents on Saturday to discuss the matter.
Carl Shultz, superintendent of Bedford Public Schools, said Mr. Stevens was president of the Douglas Road Elementary parent-teacher organization about five years ago, but never worked for the district or coached any district teams.
He said the district conducts background checks on all volunteers, and the district received no complaints about Mr. Stevens’ conduct. Volunteers are not allowed to be alone with students, per district policy.
“As an administrator as a parent, I hate hearing any story like this,” he said.
Julie Malkin, spokesman for Lucas County Children Services, said the agency received a call within the past couple of weeks from a member of the community about Mr. Stevens' alleged conduct.
Per the agency's standard procedure, staff contacted Ottawa Hills police about the call, Ms. Malkin said, and LCCS is continuing to work with police during the course of the investigation.
Police said that anyone with additional information about Mr. Stevens can contact the police department at (419) 531-4211.
Staff writers Kate Snyder, Allison Dunn, and Alex Mester contributed to this report.
First Published December 23, 2019, 6:53 p.m.
