EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — An East Cleveland police officer is on unpaid leave and facing a criminal investigation after the city's law director said a woman alleged she was sexually assaulted at a Euclid Avenue motel.
"There was an allegation that a female patron of the motel was sexually assaulted," said law director Ken Myers. "The allegation is the assault was by an East Cleveland police officer."
Myers said the city immediately turned the investigation of one of its own over to the county to handle.
A spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said that the investigation continues but declined to release any further details.
No criminal charges have been filed, so we've chosen not to name the officer who is accused.
However, state records show he was hired by East Cleveland in November 2025, where he joined a department that has seen 22 past and current police officers indicted for crimes in less than four years.
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Myers said the officer will remain on unpaid leave until the investigation is complete.
"Certainly, if one of our officers did this, it's terrible," said Myers. "And it is another, you know, mark on the city. But that would be prejudging things. Again, we know what we know, and there's an awful lot we don't know."
