For Immediate Release:                                                      

March 7, 2022                                                           

Pike County Auditor Enters "Not Guilty" Plea and Steps Away from Position while Case Pending

On March 4, 2022, at her arraignment hearing, Kayla Slusher pled not guilty to the indictment issued last month by the Pike County Grand Jury.  Judge Linton Lewis, recently appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to handle this case, ordered that Slusher stay away from the Pike County Auditor’s Office and its employees while the case is pending.  Slusher agreed to an order provisionally suspending her from office while the case is pending.  Judge Lewis issued that order on Friday.  Additionally, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice O’Connor has appointed a judicial commission to review whether to formally suspend Slusher from office. 

Last month Slusher was indicted on one count of Theft in Office, a fourth degree felony, one count of Theft in Office, a fifth degree felony, one count of Theft, a fifth degree felony, and one count of Misuse of Credit Cards, a first degree misdemeanor.  Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber’s Special Investigations Unit performed a forensic audit and investigated the case.  Attorneys in Keith Faber’s Special Investigations Unit were appointed as special prosecutors and are prosecuting the case.

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