Former Ohio principal of the year faces sex charges involving students

Chillicothe High School in Chillicothe, Ohio, is seen from the street

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A former Ohio principal of the year has been charged with multiple counts of sexual battery that authorities say involve two former high school students.

The Chillicothe Gazette reports 35-year-old Jeffrey Fisher was issued a summons Friday in southern Ohio’s Ross County after a grand jury indicted him on seven felony counts.

County Prosecutor Matt Schmidt says the charges come after a nearly three-month investigation that began with information from a family services agency. Schmidt says the students were 16 and 17 years old at the time and have since graduated.

An attorney says Fisher will plead not guilty at a Nov. 20 arraignment and asked the public for information that will exonerate him.

Fisher was Chillicothe High School principal until last year and is now a Chillicothe district administrator.