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Washington County Prosecutor Kevin Rings, who was convicted April 12 of coercion, has submitted a letter of intent to resign to the Washington County Commissioners.
The one-sentence letter, received Monday by the commissioners, indicates Rings’ intent to resign effective May 15.
Rings was tried by a jury in Washington County Common Pleas Court on charges of coercion and sexual imposition. The jury did not convict him on the sexual imposition charge but found him guilty of coercion in connection to his behavior toward defendant 33-year-old Amy Davis, of Belpre, during the course of a drug case in July 2017. Davis was also the victim in anther case the prosecutor’s office was handling. Coercion is a misdemeanor, and Rings is scheduled to be sentenced May 16, facing up to 90 days in jail.
Rings, 56, has served in the county prosecutor’s office for more than 25 years, the first 22 as an assistant prosecutor. He was appointed as interim prosecutor in June 2015 when prosecutor Jim Schneider retired. Rings, running as a Republican, was elected for a four-year term in November 2016.
County commissioner David White said the commissioners will appoint a temporary interim prosecutor to be effective at the start of the day May 16. White said it will then be up to the Washington County Republican Party central committee to name an interim prosecuting attorney within 45 days of Rings’ resignation.
White, who is a member of the central committee, said it has 36 or 37 members. The committee is made up of one Republican from each voting precinct in the county.
Republican Party county chairman Mike Webber said he doesn’t know whether the committee in the future might take additional measures to do background checks on candidates, considering Rings’ missteps in office.
“He didn’t have that in his background at the time (he ran for office),” Webber said. “In the committee, there might be several individuals who might be concerned and want to discuss that.”
Webber said he expects discussion to come up at the committee’s executive meeting on Monday. A meeting of the full central committee will be called for the first Monday in June, he said.
The legal action against Rings began in the summer of 2018 following a complaint filed by Davis, alleging that Rings had made sexual advances toward her while she was on trial on drug charges and concurrently testifying in a kidnapping case in which she was the victim.
A retired judge, Patricia Cosgrove, was appointed special prosecutor in the case in October, and investigation in the case was conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. At the center of the case were hundreds of text messages between Rings and Davis, some sexual in nature.
The case went to trial in early April. It concluded with a lengthy testimony from Rings, who argued that he was attempting to build a relationship with Davis to strengthen the case against the defendant in the kidnapping case. He denied the allegations of coercion and sexual imposition.
The case created difficulty for the prosecutors office, which had to continue day-to-day operations while its leader was dealing with legal challenges for months.
“The office was already swamped, even without this,” White said. “Our only objective is to make things as smooth as possible for our prosecutors.”
In addition to the criminal case against Rings, after his conviction a civil case was filed by more than 20 local attorneys and Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks, asking that Rings be removed from office.
What comes next
• Kevin Rings’ intended resignation is effective May 15.
• Washington County Commissioners will appoint a temporary interim prosecutor to serve until an interim is named by the Washington County Republican Party central committee.
• Central committee has 45 days from May 15 to name an interim.
• Interim serves until the next prosecutor is elected in November 2020.
Source: Times research.