CONNEAUT – A Conneaut councilman has responded via attorneys after being indicted Tuesday on sex charges that involved five teenage victims.
Ward 2 Councilman Phillip Garcia was arrested after an investigation by the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
The investigation into Garcia’s misconduct started when the first victim came to police in June saying he was sexually assaulted by Garcia when he was a juvenile. He also suggested that other children had been assaulted as well.
The accusation and investigation that followed lead to arrest of Garcia and a 26-count indictment. The charges included 5 counts of rape, 15 counts of compelling prostitution, 2 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and 4 counts of corruption of a minor – all felonies.
Police revealed the alleged crimes involved Garcia sexually assaulting and paying for sexual activity involving the victims between 1997 and 2005. Four of the five victims were employed at Phil’s Catering and Deli, an Ashtabula catering business owned by Garcia.
After learning of the indictment, city officials in Conneaut released the following statement:
On behalf of the residents, employees and elected officials of the City of Conneaut, we are stunned and shocked by the indictment returned yesterday against Ward 2 Council Member Phil Garcia on multiple counts of sex offenses, some involving minors. Conneaut is a good community and a good place to work and raise a family, and any act of sexual abuse is not tolerated.
The city condemns any act of sexual abuse against anyone at any time, particularly minors. We are deeply concerned for the victims of sexual abuse and that their rights, as well as the rights of those who are accused, are protected. These indictments are only the beginning of a lengthy legal procedure our country has steadfastly followed for more than two hundred years, and further public comment is not appropriate until such time as this matter is resolved according to the law.
Wednesday, attorneys for Garcia released a statement saying he was “targeted” by law enforcement for his sexual preferences. They said:
Mr. Garcia has been unfairly and unjustly targeted because he is a homosexual by overzealous law enforcement who have mischaracterized his actions from over twenty years ago. This indictment is an extreme example of police and prosecutors grossly overcharging a person based on their sexual orientation in attempt to gain media headlines.
Phil Garcia has been an upstanding member of the Conneaut community for over sixty years. He has devoted his life to serving others through his catering business and acting as a referee in the local school athletic departments. The unfathomable and utterly false allegations raised by a few individuals for personal gain have caused irreparable harm to Mr. Garcia’s good name and character. Mr. Garcia intends to fight these charges zealously and looks forward to his day in Court where the actual truth will be disclosed.
On Wednesday, a sign on Garcia’s business said it was closed until September 4th due to a large number of catered events. A worker inside declined to comment.
Aside from Garcia’s work as a councilman and business owner, he also had other opportunities to interact with children as a high school basketball referee. He is currently listed as the secretary of the Northeast Ohio Basketball Officials Association (NEOBOA), according to the organization’s website. We reached out to NEOBOA and the Ohio High School Athletic Association about Garcia but received no response from either.
Garcia’s case is being prosecuted by the Ohio Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section. Dewine says he believes there may be other victims still out there.
“We do have concerns that there could be additional victims who have not yet been identified, and we urge anyone with information pertinent to the investigation to come forward,” said Attorney General DeWine.
Additional victims, if any, are encouraged to call the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office at 440-576-1446.