U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s campaign publicly promoted state Rep. Gary Click as its Sandusky County chairman after allegations that the former Fremont pastor had physically and sexually abused a child were reported, according to campaign announcements and police records obtained by TiffinOhio.net.

The allegations became public on Nov. 10, 2025, when Ohio political journalist D.J. Byrnes reported the investigation in The Rooster. Exactly one month later, on Dec. 10, Husted’s campaign published a statewide leadership graphic identifying Click as its Sandusky County campaign chair. On March 19, 2026, the campaign promoted Click’s endorsement as part of a list of Republican state lawmakers backing Husted’s Senate bid.

Both campaign announcements remained online as of Oct. 6, according to dated screenshots reviewed by TiffinOhio.net. The sequence establishes that Husted’s campaign continued publicly elevating Click after the allegations and police investigation were already matters of public record.

The underlying police investigation had ended before the first public report. The person identified in the child welfare referral as the alleged victim denied being abused, Click denied the accusations, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation declined to pursue the matter further.

Police investigated Click before Husted’s campaign announcement

The Fremont Police Department received a referral from the Oregon Department of Human Services on Sept. 29, 2025, concerning allegations that Click and the father of an 18-year-old had physically and sexually abused the person during childhood, according to police records obtained by TiffinOhio.net.

The referral, based on a report from an unidentified third party, alleged that the person had been beaten, starved and sexually abused. Click was identified as the person’s former pastor at Fremont Baptist Temple, where he had served as lead pastor for 19 years.

Fremont Det. Sgt. Matthew Ranazzi located the person identified in the referral. They denied the allegations, telling police they had never reported being abused by Click or their father and did not remember Click doing anything to them.

When detectives contacted Click on Oct. 1, he told police he did not remember the person but acknowledged that they “might have been a member of his church.” Asked about the person’s father, Click said he did not know him “off the top of his head.” Click denied ever physically or sexually abusing anyone.

The Fremont investigation was closed after the person’s denial. BCI, which reviewed the matter because Click was a sitting state representative, informed Fremont police on Oct. 8 that it would not investigate further.

Byrnes publicly reported the case on Nov. 10. When subsequently confronted on camera, Click maintained his innocence, describing himself as having a “clean conscience,” “squeaky clean” and “ivory clean.”

Yet the following month, Husted’s campaign publicly identified Click as one of the county-level leaders responsible for its statewide political operation. The March endorsement announcement placed Click among the Republican lawmakers whose support the campaign was advertising to voters.

Click’s previous comments about young girls drew scrutiny

The police investigation is not the first controversy involving Click that has intersected with Husted’s Senate campaign.

In April, TiffinOhio.net reported that Husted’s campaign had continued promoting Click after video resurfaced of the lawmaker describing what he said young girls had told him about their sexual experiences.

During April 19, 2023, sponsor testimony for House Bill 68, legislation restricting gender-affirming medical care for minors, Click told the Ohio House Public Health Policy Committee that young girls had described experiencing painful sex.

“Young girls who’ve gone through this have told me it is very, very painful to have sex because of the hormones and the hormone blockers that they have received,” Click said during testimony captured on video.

Click has not publicly identified those individuals or explained when and in what capacity he spoke with them about their sexual experiences. That testimony is separate from the allegations investigated by Fremont police, and the available records do not establish any connection between them.

Click also quietly stepped down from his leadership position at Fremont Baptist Temple at the end of March 2025, six months before the police referral. His departure was not publicly reported until February 2026, when TiffinOhio.net discovered that the church was still presenting him as its pastor despite his transition to pastor emeritus.

Another Husted campaign chair resigned after a case involving a minor surfaced

Husted’s campaign has already lost another county chairman over a separate criminal case involving a minor.

In July, Andrew Havas, whom the campaign had named as a Franklin County chair, resigned after NBC News questioned the campaign about his 2009 guilty plea in a case involving a 15-year-old.

Havas had originally faced a sexual misconduct charge that was reduced to misdemeanor assault. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Husted campaign spokesperson Amy Natoce told NBC News that Havas had not disclosed his history to the campaign.

“Upon learning the facts, we immediately accepted his resignation as a campaign volunteer,” Natoce said.

The Havas case involved a criminal conviction, unlike the unsubstantiated allegations against Click, which were denied by the person identified as the alleged victim. But the campaign’s handling of Havas established that it was willing to remove a county chairman after his background attracted public scrutiny.

Click’s name, meanwhile, remained on the Sandusky County leadership announcement and the legislative endorsement graphic as of Oct. 6.

Campaign relationship extends into Northwest Ohio

Click represents Ohio’s 88th House District, which includes Seneca and Sandusky counties. He is seeking reelection against Democrat Aaron Jones, a Tiffin city councilman and U.S. Army veteran.

Husted, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Mike DeWine in January 2025, is running against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the Nov. 3 special election.

For Husted, Click’s role is more than an endorsement from another Republican officeholder. The senator’s campaign designated him as a county-level political leader in a region where both candidates will appear on voters’ ballots.

The campaign’s public announcements document Click’s designation and its subsequent promotion of his endorsement. They do not establish whether Click continues to perform active campaign duties or whether Husted’s organization has changed his responsibilities privately.

What the record does establish is that the allegations against Click were already public when Husted’s campaign advertised his county leadership role in December, and remained public when the campaign promoted his endorsement three months later.