Accused of child sex abuse, Rodney Creech puts Trump on his first campaign mailer

The Ohio lawmaker accused of climbing into bed with a minor female relative while erect and wearing only his underwear is now asking voters to re-elect him — with President Donald Trump’s face on the mailer.

State Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) was accused in 2023 by a minor relative of the encounter, according to Bureau of Criminal Investigation documents obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau. Text messages showed the minor complaining that Creech had been rubbing her legs and grabbing her waist, according to NBC4. Creech admitted to investigators he had gotten into bed with the minor in his underwear but denied the sexual nature of the allegations. The minor claimed Creech was erect during the encounters. Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll, the special prosecutor assigned to review the BCI investigation, declined to file charges but wrote that Creech’s behavior was “concerning and suspicious.”

This week, Creech’s first campaign mailer of the 2026 cycle landed in mailboxes across Ohio House District 40. Creech announced the mailer on Facebook, writing that he is “excited to serve my final two years in the Ohio House” as early voting begins April 7.

The mailer bills Creech as a “Trusted Conservative Fighter” and features a large photo of Trump giving a thumbs-up alongside a smaller headshot of Creech. It touts endorsements from the Ohio Republican Party and the Preble County Republican Party, highlights votes on taxes and school funding, and describes Creech as an “unwavering defender of the 2nd Amendment and the Right to Life.”

Trump has not endorsed Creech. But Creech has invoked the president before. In a statement last year responding to the abuse allegations, Creech said, “Like President Trump, I am no stranger to false media attacks,” according to Heartland Signal.

The allegations first surfaced publicly in May 2025. House Speaker Matt Huffman stripped Creech of all four committee assignments — including his Agriculture Committee chairmanship — and asked him to resign. Creech refused. On his official Facebook page, he dismissed the allegations as “demonstrably false” and described his daughter Ava’s statements about the alleged misconduct as “textbook parental alienation.” Ava publicly pushed back, saying she was speaking about her “true feelings.”

Nine months later, Huffman reversed course. In February, the speaker restored Creech’s committee assignments and signed a letter requesting the Ohio Republican Party endorse Creech for re-election. The party obliged. “Here we are 10 months later,” Huffman told reporters, according to the Dayton Daily News. The allegations, he said, either “weren’t true” or “it wasn’t clear if they were true.”

The Preble County Sheriff and county prosecutor both recused themselves from the case due to personal relationships with Creech. BCI did not begin investigating until November 2023 — four months after the allegations were first reported. Campaign finance records show Creech donated $4,100 to Prosecutor Martin Votel roughly five months after Votel reportedly advised that the allegations did not need to be reported for criminal investigation. That $4,100 accounted for approximately 75% of Votel’s total fundraising.

Since his reinstatement, Creech’s name has continued to surface in Columbus. He is listed as a cosponsor of House Bill 249, the Indecent Exposure Modernization Act, which its Republican backers say will protect children from indecent exposure. The House passed the bill 63-30 on March 25. During committee testimony on March 19, Planned Parenthood of Ohio’s Danielle Firsich called out Creech’s cosponsorship directly: “You have a man who was just put back on his committees, who was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, who is a sponsor on this bill. You all let him have his committee privileges back.”

The same week, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s campaign published a list of state lawmaker endorsements that included Creech’s name.

Creech faces two Republican challengers in the May 5 primary for Ohio House District 40. Former state Rep. J. Todd Smith, a Farmersville pastor who held the seat before Creech defeated him in the 2020 primary, is running to reclaim it. Lew Lainhart, a former Ohio Statehouse clerk, is also on the ballot. A Democrat, Timothy Hornbacker, is running unopposed in his party’s primary.

Early in-person voting begins April 7.

The BCI investigation into Creech’s conduct toward a minor remains closed. No charges were filed.