Official pleads to reduced charge in domestic case

Athens County Commissioner Mark Sullivan has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in a domestic violence case. On Tuesday, Sullivan pleaded guilty in Athens County Municipal Court to persistent disorderly conduct, and was fined $250.

Judge Thomas Cornn also gave Sullivan 30 days in jail, suspended on condition that he perform 25 days of community service, and complete counseling and a domestic violence intervention program.

In March Sullivan, 52, was charged with a first-degree misdemeanor count of domestic violence, after Sullivan's wife called county sheriff's deputies to the couple's Millfield home, where they were having a dispute.

A criminal complaint alleged Sullivan struck his wife in the face, with children present. Officers did not make an arrest, but Sheriff Pat Kelly later filed a complaint against Sullivan, however, based on a county-wide domestic violence protocol. Kelly said Sullivan's wife had admitted being the initial aggressor, but she had bruising on her face, while Sullivan showed no sign of injury.

Under the protocol, officers are required to arrest whichever party in a domestic violence dispute appears to be less injured.