Settlement approved in Strickland complaint

COLUMBUS- The Ohio Elections Commission approved a settlement of U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland's complaint that the campaign of his Republican challenger falsely accused him of condoning child molestation yesterday.

Mike Azinger's campaign agreed with a ruling by the Elections Commission that it distributed the false information during Strickland's re-election campaign last fall. Strickland, in turn, agreed not to push for prosecution or a public reprimand.

"I wasn't admitting guilt," Azinger said, likening his agreement to a no contest plea in the justice system, in which people admit something happened, but not that what they did was illegal.

Azinger said Strickland approached him about the settlement.

Strickland, a Democrat, had complained that Azinger's campaign distributed false information in some of its printed material.

At issue was a description of Strickland's vote on a 1999 resolution condemning a study about child molestation.

Strickland voted "present" - in effect, abstaining.

The congressman said he agreed with most of the resolution, but couldn't endorse it because it characterized child victims of molestation as having a tendency to become sex abusers as adults.

During Azinger's unsuccessful campaign to unseat Strickland, a letter sent to GOP volunteers said that Strickland "voted to give child molesters a free ride."