Ohio Republican Commissioner Drenda Keesee faces a resignation demand from her own county GOP after her son’s conviction on 27 child sex abuse counts. Chairman Fred Dailey said sworn testimony, including her daughter’s, indicated Keesee knew about the abuse and failed to report it.
Knox County Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel found Gary “Tom” Keesee Jr. guilty on Nov. 6. The convictions include 11 counts of rape. Three women testified that he abused them as children.
“I’m calling upon Commissioner Keesee to resign her elected position immediately,” Dailey said in his Nov. 6 statement.
Dailey also cited 21 missed commissioner meetings this year. Voters elected Keesee in November 2024.
Keesee and her husband, Gary, founded Faith Life Church in New Albany, where their son previously held a leadership role. The victims had church ties, though the abuse did not occur on church property.
The parents told the congregation they would continue leading the church. “That assignment has not changed,” Gary Keesee Sr. said during Sunday’s service.
