Champaign County Board of Elections deputy director Christopher Creamer is being held in Butler County Jail on federal charges. But it's not clear what those charges are.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office has a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal inmates. Butler County’s website doesn’t list any charges, though he’s been in custody for nine days.
Champaign County Board of Elections Director Meredith Anderson said Creamer planned to take vacation time off last week through the end of this week, and he called in sick on March 10. He was arrested that evening.
Anderson said the authorities haven’t disclosed anything to their office.
“We've not been contacted by anyone else and haven't heard anything other than what we've read and rumors we've heard. He's on administrative leave until something comes of it,” Anderson said.
Currently, there isn’t a federal case docket on Creamer that’s publicly available. The U.S. Southern District of Ohio Court, which handles federal cases in this jurisdiction, declined to comment.
Chief of the U.S. Marshals Service in the Southern District of Ohio Dan DeVille said he’s not familiar with the details around Creamer’s case. DeVille said questions about it would best be directed to the FBI which is leading the investigation.
WYSO left voicemails with both the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and the Cincinnati FBI. Calls weren’t returned by deadline.
As far as how this is affecting the Board of Elections office in Champaign County, Anderson said they’re shorthanded.
“We've got one of our part-time clerks to come in to work every day since,” Anderson said. “...And we're just trying to get stuff done, carry on for the primary election coming up in May.”
Anderson said their office hasn’t yet discussed a scenario where Creamer is prosecuted and unable to work.
“We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We don't know what he's charged with, and until he's charged, he still has a job. Once we find out, we'll go from there,” she said.
