William Jeff Gillespie, warden of the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail, resigned verbally yesterday through his lawyer during a meeting of the jail's commission, which accepted the resignation
Earlier this month, Gillespie pleaded not guilty to a fifth-degree felony charge of unauthorized use of property for allegedly using an office computer to show pornographic material to a female employee.
Gillespie's lawyer, John Wells, said the resignation went into effect as soon as the commission approved it.
Gillespie, who has been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 31, decided to resign now because it was obvious to him and Wells that some members of the board wanted to terminate him, Wells said.
He decided that it was in the best interest for himself
his family and frankly the jail that he moved on said Wells.
County Auditor Jill Thompson, who sits on the commission, had put a motion on the table at a previous commission meeting to terminate Gillespie's employment, though the board had not yet acted on that.
Thompson said there has been no talk of replacing Gillespie, and interim warden Jeremy Tolson will remain in that position until the commission takes further action.
Gillespie did not return a call seeking comment.
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Noah Coffman
