22-05-2025
Former Hocking County Prosecutor suspended from practicing law for 'inappropriate sexual conduct'
The Ohio Supreme Court handed down a two-year suspension from practicing law to former Hocking County Prosecutor Ryan Black for his "inappropriate sexual conduct" with two employees.
The court found that Black's sexual conduct with two female employees he supervised, which included sexually charged comments on their outfits and bodies, sending them shirtless pictures, innuendo laced-conversations and more, adversely reflected on his fitness to practice law.
The final six months of his suspension will be stayed if Black does not commit further misconduct. Black is required to submit quarterly reports that he is undergoing mental health and substance abuse treatment, and he's required to participate in an Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program that includes random alcohol and drug testing, according to Court News Ohio.
Black, who won election to the prosecutor's office in 2020, resigned in April 2024 after two former female employees of his filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit against him in the U.S. District Court in Columbus.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Hocking County Prosecutor suspended from bar for 'inappropriate sexual conduct'
