Dann accuser pleads innocent to charges

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — A woman whose sexual harassment complaint helped prompt the downfall of former Attorney General Marc Dann has pleaded innocent to charges of disorderly conduct.

Vanessa Stout, 26, was arrested at 2:10 a.m. Sunday outside the Red Rock Cafe in Delaware, north of Columbus, court officials said. She was released from jail and her attorney entered an innocent plea on Wednesday in Delaware Municipal Court.

A court date has not been set yet.

Stout was one of two women in the attorney general’s office who accused top Dann aide Anthony Gutierrez of sexual harassment.

Gutierrez, supervisor of general services, was fired in May after an internal investigation concluded he violated the office’s sexual harassment policy.

Dann, a Democrat elected in 2006, resigned two weeks later after acknowledging an extramarital affair with an employee, fostering bad office behavior, hiring ill-qualified friends and being unprepared to hold the office.