A former assistant prosecutor from Cuyahoga County has been indefinitely suspended from practicing law after soliciting sex online from an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl. The Supreme Court of Ohio announced the suspension of Joseph M. Bell, who was employed in the child support unit of the prosecutor’s office at the time of the incident in July 2021.
Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy, writing for the Court majority, emphasized that Bell's role as a prosecutor required him to be held to a higher standard due to his position of public trust. "His job was to protect children; instead, while on the job, he negotiated a price to victimize one," she stated.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a complaint against Bell with the Board of Professional Conduct and recommended an indefinite suspension. The board suggested a two-year suspension with six months credit for time served during an interim suspension. Justices Patrick F. Fischer, Michael P. Donnelly, and Joseph T. Deters supported Chief Justice Kennedy's opinion, along with First District Court of Appeals Judge Ginger S. Bock sitting for Justice Jennifer Brunner.
Justices R. Patrick DeWine and Melody Stewart agreed with most findings but favored imposing the board’s recommended suspension instead.
Bell began working at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office in February 2020 and was part of the juvenile division's child support unit when he visited a website listing profiles of sex workers during work hours using his personal phone.
Believing he was communicating with a female sex worker, Bell texted an undercover officer who identified herself as being younger than him and eventually claimed to be 15 years old. Despite expressing concern about her age initially, Bell continued communication and asked about payment for sexual services before deciding not to meet.
Following further communication without meeting plans, Bell was arrested at his office two weeks later and subsequently fired by his employer. He faced charges leading to pleading guilty to unlawful use of telecommunications devices—a fifth-degree felony—and received one year under community control along with mandatory counseling participation.
The Supreme Court had previously suspended Bell on an interim basis in June 2022 based on these charges until today's decision confirming indefinite suspension eligibility only after completing community control requirements alongside proof regarding continued counseling adherence through qualified healthcare professionals' verification submissions while bearing disciplinary proceeding costs too—Disciplinary Counsel v., Slip Opinion No., summarized herein prepared via Public Information Office aimed toward general public/news media awareness purposes rather than official headnotes/syllabi substitutes since full texts accessible online additionally noted within disclaimer contextually attached below hereafter appended accordingly:
"Given that he engaged in solicitation involving someone believed underage whilst representing juveniles publicly himself concurrently demonstrated profound judgment lapse overall," concluded ultimately affirmed collectively amongst participating judiciary consensus rendered finality now formalized duly thusly recorded officially henceforth thereafter...