Former Lucas Co. probation officer sentenced for sex with client
12/4/2017
Former Lucas County Probation Officer Angela Kimball, 40, reacts during her sentencing for sexual battery in Lucas County Courthouse on December 4.
The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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A former Lucas County probation officer who admitted she had sex with a client was placed on community control Monday for three years.
Angela Kimball, 40, of Walbridge was also classified as a sex offender who must register her address with the county sheriff every 90 days for the rest of her life.
“This is a bad situation all the way around, not just for you, but it’s a sad day for the criminal justice system here in Lucas County, Ohio,” Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Dean Mandros said before sentencing her. “It's just unfortunate on so many levels.”
Kimball pleaded guilty Oct. 23 to a single count of sexual battery, a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Prosecutors agreed to recommend community control, rather than prison, as part of the plea agreement.
While Kimball lost her job and her livelihood, Judge Mandros said her actions also impacted the probation department where she worked.
“The fact that you were engaging in this type of conduct with a probationer erodes the work of that whole department and makes the work of this court all the more challenging,” the judge said.
Kimball began working for the Lucas County Adult Probation Department in 2012 but was fired effective July 31 for immoral, unprofessional, and unethical behavior.
She tearfully apologized to the court and to her family.
“Me making those choices is not the person that I truly am,” Kimball told the court. “I now have to rebuild my life from the bottom up. Everything I worked for, I threw away.”
Her attorney, Stevin Groth, pointed out that she had no criminal record and was contrite.
“There is no good excuse for her actions, and she offers none,” he said, adding that Kimball was “undergoing some life challenges, felt very poorly about herself, and reached out to feel better about herself, and did so in an inappropriate manner.”
Mr. Groth said it was her position of trust and authority as a probation officer that made her conduct a crime. He pointed out that she did not use her position to scare the probationer she had sex with, “but there is a natural imbalance of power that cannot be erased by consent.”
A Lucas County grand jury indicted her on four counts of sexual battery, but under the terms of the plea agreement, Judge Mandros dismissed three of the counts.
Due to her previous employment, Judge Mandros ordered that Kimball report to the Wood County Probation Department, complete Wood County's sex offender program, continue mental-health treatment, and have no contact with any former clients.
Contact Jennifer Feehan at jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.