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Former prosecutor and magistrate, state fire inspector both charged with solicitation

A photo of a Columbus police officer who was part of the operation.
Ohio Attorney General video
A photo of a Columbus police officer who was part of the operation.

A former prosecutor and magistrate has been charged with solicitation.

The charge against Jeffrey Startzman, 68, was announced by the Ohio Attorney General's Office in a press release about a broader statewide human trafficking operation.

Startzman is a former municipal prosecutor for Brookville, former magistrate. He was a board member for Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, but the board did update on Wednesday that he was no longer with the board. On Monday, ADAMHS declined to comment, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

The state also announced that Charles Arnold, 55, of Dayton, was charged with solicitation. Arnold was listed in the announcement as a chief fire inspector for the Ohio Department of Commerce.

The state posted on its website the full list of 132 people arrested for seeking to buy sex.

Updated: October 16, 2024 at 11:04 AM EDT
The story was updated to reflect that ADAMHS announced on Wednesday that Startzman was no longer with the board.
Kaitlin Schroeder (she/her) joined WYSO in 2024 with 10 years of experience in local news. This includes Dayton Daily News, Dayton Business Journal, the Morning Sentinel in Maine, and KosovaLive in Pristina, Kosovo.
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