Attorney for ex-Chester Township officer accused of sexual battery wants charges dropped because of ‘flaws’ in case

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Attorneys for a former Chester Township police officer who also was a temporary school resource officer say sexual battery charges against him should be dropped because he was not working at the victim’s school at the time of the offense.

Nicholas Iacampo was indicted after being accused of meeting up with a teenager in the parking lot of the Church of the Blessed Hope on Wilson Mills Road in Chester Township on Aug. 6.

His attorneys, Ian Friedman and Madelyn Grant, are seeking to have the case dismissed because of Iacampo’s work as the officer at West Geauga High School had ended by the time of the incident. They claim that serving at the school is a prerequisite of the charge.

Iacampo met the girl while he worked at the school. Iacampo often escorted her to the nurse’s office, and the two “became friendly and would communicate both in and outside of the school setting,” the defense filing shows.

Iacampo worked as a student resource officer at the high school temporarily from January 2023 until June 2, 2023, while the police department and school searched for a replacement. Afterward, Iacampo returned as a patrolman for the Chester Township police.

He was arrested Aug. 7 after admitting to engaging in “consensual sexual conduct” with the then-16-year-old girl the day before. He resigned from the police department Aug. 28.

Lake County Prosecutor Charles Coulson was assigned to the case because Iacampo’s mother is Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica.

Lake County prosecutors obtained an indictment against Iacampo on Nov. 30 in Geauga County Common Pleas Court. He is accused of sexual battery, a third-degree felony. John Enlow, a retired Portage County judge, is handling the case on assignment.

Iacampo pleaded not guilty Dec. 19. Friedman and Grant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment last week.

“(Iacampo) was not employed by or serving in a school at the time of the sexual conduct is alleged to have occurred, which is an essential element of – and prerequisite to prosecution…,” Friedman and Grant wrote.

“Believing there to be a number of fatal flaws in the criminal case brought by the state against Mr. Iacampo, the filing of certain motions was warranted to highlight the deficiencies. After the state files its response, we will be prepared to orally present our argument to the trial judge in court.”

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to the Lake County prosecutor’s office for a comment.

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