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Former Pike Co. Deputy Found Guilty Of Gross Sexual Imposition

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A former chief deputy at the Pike County Sheriff's Office was found guilty of one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, on Monday when he appeared before visiting Judge Jan Corzine in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas.

Clyde Franklin (Frank) Sanders, 50, was arrested by the Pike County Sheriff's Office in 2011 and charged with one count of gross sexual imposition, two counts of kidnapping, one count of rape, and one count of endangering children. The rape and kidnapping charges were first-degree felonies.

On Monday, Sanders pleaded no contest to the charge of gross sexual imposition and was found guilty of the charge, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which handled the prosecution of the case through Assistant Attorney General Emily Pelphrey.

In 2011, a term of the Pike County Grand Jury returned a five-count indictment against Sanders, alleging that between October 2008 and January 2009, he engaged in sexual activity with a child who was under the age of 10. At the time of his 2011 arrest on Five Bucks Road, Sanders was living in Beaver.

Due to Monday's plea, the case will not go to jury trial. Pelphrey declined to be interviewed on Monday, but the Attorney General's Office said that sentencing of Sanders will take place at a date yet to be determined. Sanders is represented by attorneys from Yavitch and Palmer Co., LPA, and Bowen and Keck, both Columbus firms.

Used with permission of the Pike County News Watchmen