Horn ran unopposed in the Nov. 5. election, winning a seat on the seven-member village council. She was indicted for felony theft and forgery in September 2009. She pleaded guilty to forgery and was ordered to pay $473.28 in restitution to Walmart.
She asked the judge in that case to erase her record so she can hold office. She took office Jan. 2 but if Stephens denies the request Village Solicitor Dennis Adams said she will be removed from office. Stephens said she can appeal the ruling.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser opposed the expungement.
“This defendant is clearly a person who cannot be trusted and has no honor,” Gmoser’s office wrote in a court filing.
“The defendant has been convicted, twice, of offenses involving fraud and deceit for her own personal, monetary gains. This defendant cannot be trusted in a position that has the potential to be in control of public funds.”
Horn told the Journal-News previously she made some foolish mistakes 10 years ago, but she sought the council seat to make her community better and she intends to fulfill that promise.
Horn could not be reached for comment about the hearing, but the standard form she filed out in her motion for expungement states, “I am rehabilitated, and the sealing of my conviction is consistent with the public interest.”
Horn faced a year-long prison term but was given five years of community control instead. Court records show her probation was “unsuccessfully terminated” in November 2014. Gmoser’s motion indicates she failed to pay $765.50 in court costs so her community control was deemed unsuccessful.
In his opposition motion, Gmoser informed Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens that Horn was arrested for and pleaded no contest to petty theft in Middletown Municipal Court in 2011, while she was on probation. She was fined $200, court costs and ordered to stay out of Walmart.
About the Author