A public hearing to air allegations of sexual harassment against a Deerfield Township firefighter/paramedic has been postponed at the request of his attorney.
Township Trustee Tiffany Havens, who has herself been accused in a separate sexual harassment allegation, said Brian Kelderhouse recently retained an attorney who requested time to “get up to speed.”
Kelderhouse’s hearing was to have taken place Aug. 26 but is now set for Sept. 9.
“That’s the goal. That is what they’re shooting for,” Havens said.
A Deerfield Fire Department employee notified township trustees on Nov. 20, 2023, that Kelderhouse had created “a hostile work environment including sexual harassment,” not only for her but for other female department members.
Although the name of the employee who made the complaint is in the public record, The Portager is not naming her while investigations are underway to protect the privacy of a potential victim of sexual harassment.
Deerfield trustees suspended Kelderhouse with pay last year when they received the complaint and retained North Canton attorney Gregory A. Beck to represent the township. When The Portager interviewed Kelderhouse in mid-August, he had not yet retained an attorney and expressed surprise at the allegations.
The Portager was unable to reach Kelderhouse’s attorney, Michael Creveling, of Fairlawn.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.