Case Transferred to Lake County Due to Potential Conflict of Interest
Chester Township police officer Nicholas Iacampo, 29, of Painesville, was arraigned Aug. 7 in Chardon Municipal Court on a third-degree felony charge of sexual battery against a 16-year-old.
Editor’s Note: This is the 9-1-1 call from the father of the 16-year-old girl whom Nicholas Iacampo allegedly admitted to having sexual contact with the evening of Aug. 6. He is calling from the Chester Township Police Department lobby and got a Geauga County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher. The sheriff’s office handled 9-1-1 calls for the township.
Chester Township police officer Nicholas Iacampo, 29, of Painesville, was arraigned Aug. 7 in Chardon Municipal Court on a third-degree felony charge of sexual battery against a 16-year-old.
Iacampo was arrested Aug. 6 and taken to a Lake County jail overnight.
A press release from Chester Police Chief Craig Young said during the evening of Aug. 6, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office received a report involving serious allegations against a Chester Township police officer.
“These allegations involved a teenage complainant while the officer was on duty,” Young said.
The sheriff’s office contacted Young’s department, triggering an immediate investigation. In collaboration with Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, Young said the Chester Township Police Department requested assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a third-party investigation.
That investigation, conducted by a Lake County sheriff’s detective, found Iacampo engaged in sexual conduct with a minor who at the time of the incident was 16 years of age.
“Futhermore, the accused admitted to the offense while speaking with detectives,” the detective stated in a complaint filed with the court.
The conduct took place while Iacampo was on duty as a police officer and is alleged to have occurred Aug. 6 in the parking lot of the Church of the Blessed Hope on Wilson Mills Road in Chester Township.
Iacampo, who is the son of Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica, helped thwart a potential shooting April 3 at West Geauga High School, where he served as a School Resource Officer from January through June. He is being represented by attorney Ian Friedman and co-counsel Madlyn Grant, both of Friedman Menashe Nemecek & Long LLC.
“The facts of this case are just beginning to come in. We will review all claims and respond accordingly at the appropriate time,” they said in a statement after the arraignment.
Retired Wayne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark Wiest presided over the arraignment remotely from his home. Wiest set a preliminary hearing date of Aug. 18.
While Chardon Assistant Police Prosecutor John Bosco handled the arraignment, to avoid any conflicts or potential conflicts of interest in Geauga County’s court system, the case will be forwarded to a special prosecutor from Lake County.
Geauga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke issued a judgment entry to that effect late in the afternoon Aug. 7, granting Lake County Prosecutor Charles Coulson and his staff “the same power and authority granted by law to the Geauga County prosecuting attorney.”
“This appointment includes any preliminary hearing proceedings in municipal court; advising any investigatory agencies; prosecuting any proceedings in the common pleas court; and handling any appeals,” Paschke said.
The complaint against Iacampo cites a violation of Ohio Revised Code section 2907.03, which states, in part, that no person shall engage in sexual conduct with another if “the other person is a minor, the offender is a peace officer and the offender is more than two years older than the other person.”
The arraignment was interrupted by a roughly hour-long recess during which court staff and Friedman contacted a prosecuting attorney to represent the state’s prosecution and speak on behalf of the victim.
Under Marsy’s Law for Ohio, victims must be given the right to be present at court proceedings and provide input to a prosecutor before a plea deal is struck, as well as the right to be heard at plea or sentence proceedings, or any process that may grant an offender’s release.
After the recess, Bosco appeared via speakerphone to discuss the terms of Iacampo’s bond.
“My recommendation, your honor, is $50,000 at 10% (surety) with all of the standard conditions that this court imposes on a bond, including no contact with the alleged victim,” Bosco said.
Friedman did not object.
“I appreciate the recommendation. I think it takes into account my client’s residence here, lack of prior criminal history of any sort and his roots,” he said.
Friedman said Iacampo’s wife, who was in the courtroom along with his brother, confirmed he would be maintaining his residence at his home in Painesville, where he lives with her and her 19-year-old sister.
“Based upon that, (with) the allegations in the case, I do think $50,000 (and) 10% is a fair recommendation,” he said, and Wiest set bond accordingly.
Friedman also asked if a psychological screening required by the court could be performed by an agency other than the local mental health agencies listed in the court’s standard bond conditions. He specified Advanced Psychotherapy Systems in Mentor, which Grant said is state-certified for court-ordered risk assessments.
“The reason being, in our experience, some of the questioning that’s done on the risk assessment of the places named get into the merits of the case and this becomes a problem from time to time,” he said.
Iacampo posted his bond and Friedman said after being processed in Lake County, he would be free to return home that evening.
