HOCKING COUNTY, Ohio — Hocking County prosecutor Ryan Black submitted his resignation on Tuesday amidst a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by two former female employees.
In the letter addressed to the Hocking County Commissioners, Black says his final day of employment will be on April 19.
The resignation comes as Black is facing accusations of sexual discrimination and retaliating against two former female employees who reported concerns about the work environment.
In the federal lawsuit, a former employee accuses Black of using his position of power to pressure her into having sex with him twice, then retaliating against her when she refused to continue that relationship.
The lawsuit compares the prosecutor’s office to a “frat house” and accuses Black of "a constant stream of unwelcome, unsolicited stream of demeaning, degrading, sexist and offensive comments."
It also says he "displayed extremely moody and belligerent behavior, which had a disturbing and frightening impact on all female staff."
Black referred to his office couch as his "porn couch" and joked with two female employees that he'd like to film them on the couch in bikinis, according to the lawsuit.
It also alleges he made jokes about one of the plaintiffs terminating her pregnancy, then said he was happy when she had a miscarriage.
The women said they brought up the concerns about the work environment to their superiors, but no action was taken.
Eventually, the former employees said they had no option but to resign from their positions.
The resignation comes hours before Ohio's primary, in which Black was running for re-election against three Republican candidates.