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Euclid police officer charged with sex crimes involving juvenile

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A grand jury has charged a Euclid police officer with several felony crimes including attempted rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Donald Ivory, 47, is charged with one count of attempted rape, three counts of gross sexual imposition, one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of intimidation of a victim.

Ivory is scheduled to be arraigned in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on March 24.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley’s office said in a Monday statement that Ivory sexually assaulted the girl at his Euclid home in August while he was off-duty, and then threatened to take her to the county’s juvenile detention center if she did not give him her cellphone, which contained evidence.

The girl went to police in November to file a report.

“This indictment sends the message that no one is above the law,” O’Malley said in a statement. “It is our obligation to protect the children of this community and to hold accountable those who prey upon them.”

Euclid Police Capt. Mitch Houser said in a news release Monday that Chief Scott Meyer placed Ivory on paid leave while a detective investigated the girl’s complaint. The detective presented the results of the investigation to a grand jury on Friday, the release said. The release said that Ivory will be placed on unpaid leave as the case moves through the court.

Houser said that Ivory was hired in March 2008.

Ivory was fired in 2018 following a series of off-duty altercations with women he dated culminating in him getting charged with domestic violence in Euclid Municipal Court, according to WEWS Channel 5. He eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and a judge sentenced him to probation that included alcohol screening and domestic violence counseling, according to court records.

The union representing Euclid police officers filed a grievance and an arbitrator in January 2019 ordered the city to rehire Ivory, the TV station reported.

Ivory also received multiple accommodations throughout his career, including being among 25 officers honored by the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving as a Top Cop in 2016, according to the arbitrator’s report and a department news release.

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