FREMONT, Ohio — Sandusky County Prosecutor Beth Tischler, who is running for Common Pleas Court judge in Tuesday’s Republican primary, testified favorably for a colleague facing judicial discipline — rating him 9 out of 10 as a trial judge — in proceedings that found he repeatedly referred to a child rape case involving an 18-month-old victim as the “baby cocksucker case,” used the n-word in the courthouse within earshot of a Black criminal defendant, and sent sexual and joking messages to court staff during the trial itself.
Tischler was called as a witness during the May 2025 disciplinary hearing for Sandusky County Common Pleas Judge Jon Ickes before the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct. Under cross-examination by Ickes’ attorney, she was asked to rate Ickes as a trial judge. “Since I was taught by somebody you don’t give anybody a perfect score, I’ll go with nine,” Tischler said, according to the hearing transcript. When asked to confirm — “Nine out of 10?” — she nodded. Tischler also testified that during her frequent visits to Ickes’ chambers, she had not observed court employees appearing demonstrably offended by anything Ickes said or did.
The disciplinary proceedings, documented in the formal amended complaint filed January 23, 2025, detail a pattern of misconduct the Board found violated multiple judicial conduct rules. Among the findings: for the eight months that a child rape case involving an 18-month-old victim was on his docket, Ickes repeatedly referred to it as the “baby cocksucker case” when discussing it with court staff, according to the amended complaint. During jury selection and trial in that same case, Ickes participated in a group text message thread with three staff members who were present in the courtroom, exchanging sexual and joking messages while presiding over the proceedings, the complaint states.
In a separate incident, Ickes used the n-word in the courthouse in front of a group that included Judge Jeremiah Ray, court staff, and a defense attorney, according to the complaint. The conversation began when Judge Ray mentioned he had watched the film Blazing Saddles the night before. Ickes loudly recited quotes from the film in a southern accent and sang a portion of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” He then stated his favorite part of the film is when a character tips his hat and says, “Good morning,” followed by the slur — which Ickes spoke aloud. A Black criminal defendant, Nathaniel Simmons, was seated on a hallway bench just outside the open office door and heard Ickes use the word. Simmons’s attorney immediately left to speak with him. “So I’m not supposed to be pissed off about what I just heard?” Simmons said, according to the complaint. When Simmons learned it was the judge presiding over his own case, he asked to file a complaint. Ickes subsequently recused himself.
Ickes acknowledged using the n-word but argued to disciplinary counsel that it was intended as satire, saying there was “a distinction between using and saying something,” according to WTOL’s reporting on the disciplinary brief.
The amended complaint also alleges Ickes harassed a pregnant 20-year-old staff member with repeated sexual comments, created courthouse nicknames of a sexual and demeaning nature for court and probation staff, showed staff photographs he had taken of women, and kept a firearm in his chambers — on one occasion accidentally grabbing it instead of a Nerf gun while attempting to “shoot” a staff member, then joking, “that would not have been good.”
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel recommended a two-year suspension of Ickes’ law license, with one year stayed. The Board adopted Ickes’ own proposed sanction — a one-year suspension, fully stayed — meaning Ickes would serve no time off the bench absent further misconduct. During the proceedings, the hearing panel separately dismissed two categories of add-on professional conduct charges related to the racial slur, the child rape case conduct, and the failure to disqualify counts; the underlying judicial conduct rule violations on those counts were not dismissed. The Board’s recommendation is before the Ohio Supreme Court as Case No. 2025-1323. As of late April 2026, no final ruling has been issued.
Tischler’s connection to the Ickes proceedings predates her testimony. It was Judge Jeremiah Ray — the same judge Tischler is now challenging in Tuesday’s primary — who first brought the underlying allegations against Ickes to Tischler on April 29, 2024, contacting her in her capacity as the court’s statutory counsel, according to the amended complaint. Tischler then reported those allegations to Sandusky County Administrator Theresa Garcia, helping set the formal accountability process in motion.
Sandusky County Judge Brad Smith, who also testified favorably for Ickes during the disciplinary proceedings — calling him “a solid human being and a good judge” — has publicly backed Tischler’s campaign. Campaign signs for both candidates have been displayed together, and Smith has solicited yard sign hosts for both races on social media. Smith is also seeking re-election on Tuesday’s ballot. TiffinOhio.net previously reported that Tischler formally abated a $33,300 state audit finding against Smith with no repayment required before publicly backing his campaign.
Tischler responded to a request for comment shortly before publication. Tischler confirmed she was subpoenaed to testify by disciplinary counsel — the office that brought the case against Ickes — and said readers should review the full transcript for context. She did not address her 9-out-of-10 rating of Ickes or her testimony that she had not observed court employees appearing demonstrably offended by his conduct.
“Judge Ray was correct in reporting the allegation raised by J.D. to discipline,” Tischler wrote. On the question of her campaign against Ray, she wrote: “My decision to run against Judge Ray, and the fractured relationship between Judge Ray and my office have nothing to do with him reporting Judge Ickes to discipline.”
Tischler did not elaborate on the nature of the fractured relationship she described. The primary election is Tuesday, May 5.
