“…a ‘special treatment’ kind of thing”
Pastor Everett Mitchell of Steubenville, Ohio was indicted and charged with 6 felony sex crimes and one misdemeanor. He was arraigned on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to
- sexual battery (2 felony counts);
- attempted sexual battery (2 felony counts);
- unlawful sexual conduct with a minor (1 felony count);
- one felony count of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor; and
- sexual imposition, (misdemeanor. )
The Herald Star reported on and inquired about why Mitchell was released on his own recognizance. They questioned why the other gentleman who was arraigned the same day had a bond amount of $250,000.
The disparity between the cases wasn’t lost on Hanlin, who said there was no preferential treatment for the pastor. She said Mitchell wasn’t required to post bond because he “appeared voluntarily the first time, the way you’re supposed to.”
“If you appear, as he did, when you are supposed to, then the court will assume you will make (future) court appearances,” Hanlin said Thursday. “It was never a ‘special treatment’ kind of thing. He was never in custody.”
I reviewed over 400 criminal cases in Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas from mid 2016 through August 14, 2019. I am going to post the case #, the charges and the bond amount from 2017-2019. You be the judge of whether or not Mitchell received preferential treatment. I might add that the other person who received an OR (own recognizance) bond was a former Steubenville police officer who was charged with gross sexual imposition and was in a Pennsylvania VA hospital at the time of his indictment. Also, Everett Mitchell was a volunteer girls track coach for many years at Steubenville High School.
| Case # | Offense(s) | Bond |
| 18CR00001 | GR SEX IMPSITN 01/01/10 F-3 GR SEX IMPSITN 01/01/10 F-3 | $100,000 |
| 19CR00063 | RAPE 04/12/19 F-1 | $350,000 |
| 19CR00095 | RAPE – 2907.02 06/11/19 F-1 RAPE – 2907.02 06/11/19 F-1 | $100,000 |
| 19CR00112 | RAPE 07/25/19 F-1 RAPE 07/25/19 F-1 | not on dockt |
| 18CR00001 | GR. SEX. IMPOS 04/08/18F-3 | $40,000 |
| 18CR00141 | RAPE 02/01/18 F-1 | $500,000 |
| 18CR00183 | IMPORTUNING 10/19/18 F-5 SEXUAL IMPOS 06/01/18 M-3 | $5,000 |
| 18CR00196 | GR SEX IMPSITN 01/01/10 F-3 SEXUAL BATTERY 01/01/10 F-2 RAPE 01/01/10 F-1 | house arrest |
| 17CR00016 | RAPE F-1 RAPE 01/20/16 F-1 RAPE 01/20/16 F-1 RAPE 01/20/16 F-1 GR SEX IMPSITN 01/20/16 F-3 GR SEX IMPSITN 01/20/16 F-3 GR SEX IMPSITN 01/20/16 F-3 GR SEX IMPSITN 01/20/16 F-3 | 10,000,000.00 |
| 17CR00057 | GR. SEX. IMPOS 04/03/17 F-3 GR. SEX. IMPOS- 04/03/17 F-3 GR. SEX. IMPOS-2907.05 04/03/ F-3 | $100,000.00 |
| 17CR00086 | GR. SEX. IMPOS-2907.05 05/22/17 F-3 | $10,000.00 |
| 17CR00100 | UNLAW SEX COND W/MIN 06/27/17 F-4 | $7,500.00 |
| 17CR00149 | CORR. OF A MINOR 2907.04 03/31/17 F-3 (former Steubenville police officer) | O.R. BOND |
| 17CR00152 | RAPE 10/18/17 F-1 Sex Imposition 10/18/17 F-3 GROSS SEXUAL IMPOS 10/18/17 F-4 | $50,000.00 |
| 17CR00162 | RAPE 10/06/17 F-1 RAPE 10/06/17 F-1 GR SEX IMPSITN 10/06/17 F-3 GR SEX IMPSITN 10/06/17 F-3 | $100,000.00 |
| 17CR00175 | CORRUPTION OF MINOR 11/16/17 F-3 CORRUPTION OF MINOR 11/16/17 F-3 SEX. BATTERY – 2907.03 11/16/17 F-3 SEX. BATTERY – 2907.03 11/16/17 F-3 | $250,000.00 |
| 17CR00187 | GR SEX IMPOSIT. 12/02/17 F-4 | $75,000.00 |
You can see the docket text for all of the above here.