Jim Trent pleads guilty to end sex case

Jim Trent, the former Kettering school board member who resigned in the wake of his being charged with a sex crime, has pleaded guilty to end the criminal case.

According to Kettering Municipal Court online records, a sexual imposition charge against Trent was dropped Wednesday at the request of the prosecutor's office. In exchange, he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.

Municipal Court Judge Robert Moore suspended the jail sentence, but ordered Trent to have no contact with the victim or her family for two years. Moore also placed Trent on unsupervised probation for two years and fined him $150 plus court costs.

Trent, 80, resigned Sept. 25. He was charged Sept. 18 with sexual imposition and disorderly conduct after an incident in his neighborhood. The two misdemeanor charges were filed by a Kettering woman who told police Trent held her in an embrace, tried to kiss her and grabbed her buttocks.

A pre-trial hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 28.

On Oct. 10, the school board picked Jennifer Kane to replace Trent and complete his unexpired term. That term continues through 2015.

Kane, a chairwoman of the Citizens for Kettering City Schools levy campaign, brings 11 years of banking experience to the board, having been an assistant vice president with Provident Bank in Cincinnati and a retail banking senior managing officer with Bank One in Dayton, according to the school district.

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