An Ohio police chief accused of sexually abusing a minor over several years while working as a youth instructor has been charged with 70 counts of sex crimes, authorities said. Chad Essert, 44, was arrested in Florida after a grand jury indicted him on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to a news release from the Clermont County’s Sheriff’s Office. The alleged crimes took place between 2005 and 2010 while Essert was an instructor at Young Marines, a national youth program, and teacher at Scarlet Oaks, a career development center in Sharonville, Ohio, authorities said.  Investigators said the victim was a student of Essert’s during that period and that the alleged offenses occurred across multiple locations in both Clermont and Hamilton counties. Essert began to cultivate a relationship with the victim when she was 12 years old, prosecutor Baron Allen told NBC affiliate WLTW. The Bethel police chief “used positions of trusted authority to gain and maintain access to her,” Allen added. “It takes tremendous courage for a victim to come forward, especially when the accused wears a badge and holds a position of authority,” Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton said following Essert’s 70-count indictment on June 11. Essert was taken into custody by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Florida on June 11, and was extradited to Ohio a week later. If convicted on all charges, Essert faces a maximum sentence of 280 years in prison. Essert’s attorney, Jay Clark, said he denies the allegations and is calling the charges “baseless.” “He did not have an inappropriate relationship with her, didn’t groom her, didn’t have unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He didn’t do any of that,” Clark told reporters outside the Clermont County courtroom on Monday. Essert is currently on paid administrative leave with the Bethel Police Department, a role he took in 2021, amid an unrelated investigation into alleged misconduct. While local officials have not publicly disclosed details of the investigation, a memo from the Bethel mayor obtained by WLTW states that investigators found allegations that Essert had an affair with a woman he met during a traffic stop and had sex with her inside the police department. The memo also details allegations from a former female officer who accused Essert of inappropriate conduct and sexual advances. The memo laying out the charges against Essert was sent to the Bethel village council by the mayor as part of a formal process to remove him from the position. “The charges, in addition to the ongoing administrative investigation into Chief Essert’s behavior that was initiated following the Clermont County Sheriff Department’s investigation report, make it clear to me that Chief Essert should no longer lead the Bethel Police Department. I intend to initiate the statutory process to remove Chief Essert from employment with the Village of Bethel,” mayor Jay Noble shared in a statement. ...read more read less