Former Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor suspended from practicing law

Warren man caught soliciting sex

WARREN -- Former Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Joseph M. Bell of Warren, has been indefinitely suspended from practicing law.

The decision by the Ohio Supreme Court came Wednesday after an investigation revealed Bell sought sex workers on his phone while working in the child support unit of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office in July 2021.

Investigators say Bell contacted an undercover officer with the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force that had posed as a 15-year-old girl.

He was fired from the job, which he had for 18 months, before agents with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children task force arrested him at the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland on a charge of fifth-degree importuning.

Bell later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of probation for fifth-degree unlawful use of a telecommunications device.

Although Bell never met with the "girl," the Supreme Court concluded that an indefinite suspension was warranted for the misconduct given his position as a prosecutor.

Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy wrote in the court's majority that given the assistant prosecutor was "invested with the public trust," he should be held to a higher standard than other attorneys.

"His job was to protect children; instead, while on the job, he negotiated a price to victimize one," she wrote.

The complaint against Bell was brought to the Board of Professional Conduct by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, who recommended an indefinite suspension.

The board proposed a two-year suspension with six months worth of credit for time served during an interim suspension.