More than a year after Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman stripped state Rep. Rodney Creech of his committee assignments and asked him to consider resigning — over allegations, detailed in state investigative records, that he climbed into bed with a minor female relative while erect and wearing only his underwear — Creech remains the Republican nominee for re-election in House District 40.

No public call for Creech to step down from gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, his legislative ally Gary Click, or the Ohio Republican Party appears in the endorsement materials, campaign statements, or public reporting reviewed by TiffinOhio.net. Creech, who was never criminally charged, has denied the allegations and called them “demonstrably false.”

Instead of pressure to leave office, Creech has received the opposite. The Ohio Republican Party endorsed him for re-election in February, Huffman restored him to four committee seats — though not to the House Agriculture Committee chairmanship he had lost — and Creech went on to win his May 5 primary. He now stands as the party’s nominee for a fourth term in House District 40.

What the allegations say

A minor female relative accused Creech in 2023 of climbing into bed and under the covers with her while erect and wearing only his underwear, 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 told BCI investigators he had gotten into bed with the minor in his underwear but denied the sexual nature of the allegations, including that he touched her more than once.

Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll, appointed as a special prosecutor after local officials recused themselves because of personal ties to Creech, declined to file charges. He wrote that Creech’s “behavior during the time of the investigation was concerning and suspicious,” but that “the evidence falls short of the threshold needed for prosecution.” The case was closed in October 2024.

From ‘consider resigning’ to a party endorsement

When the allegations became public in May 2025, Huffman removed Creech from all four of his committee assignments, including the chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee, and asked him to consider resigning. “I did ask him to consider resigning,” the Lima Republican said at the time, adding that the matter was “very serious” and that he did not believe Creech could serve effectively “with this in the public sphere.”

Creech did not resign. By February 2026, Huffman had reversed course — restoring Creech’s committee seats and signing a letter requesting that the Ohio Republican Party endorse his re-election. The party did.

Huffman explained the reversal by pointing to the absence of any criminal action. Ten months on, he said, the allegations “either weren’t true” or it “wasn’t clear if they were true,” and “there are no authorities taking any action.”

Ramaswamy touted the endorsement, then went quiet

Creech was an early backer of Ramaswamy, attending his gubernatorial campaign launch and endorsing him more than a year before the primary. Ramaswamy’s campaign promoted Creech’s support in an April 2025 press release touting endorsements from 38 Ohio House Republicans.

After TiffinOhio.net reported in April 2026 that the endorsement remained live months after the allegations surfaced, Ramaswamy’s campaign quietly removed both Creech and Click from its endorsements page, a change captured in Web Archive snapshots. Click’s name was restored within hours; Creech’s was not. Ramaswamy has not publicly addressed the allegations or called for Creech to step down.

Click, an ally, shares Creech’s ‘parental alienation’ framing

Creech responded to the allegations on his official Facebook page by describing his accuser’s account as “textbook parental alienation” — a disputed concept that a 2023 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women described as “unfounded and unscientific” and often used in custody disputes to undermine abuse allegations.

Weeks later, Click introduced House Bill 693, the “Affirming Families First Act,” which he is sponsoring with Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.). The bill would write a statutory definition of “parental alienation” into Ohio law. Click, who like Creech survived a contested May 5 primary, has not called on Creech to resign.

What comes next

Creech, a fourth-generation farmer and former Preble County commissioner, represents House District 40, covering Preble County and parts of Butler and Montgomery counties. He advances to the November 3 general election against Democrat Timothy Hornbacker and Libertarian Joshua A. Umbaugh.

In May 2025, House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) called the allegations, “if true, … very serious and concerning,” and said elected officials “are expected to uphold higher standards,” while noting that any sanction rested with the House’s Republican majority. No prominent Ohio Republican has since publicly called for Creech to leave office.