COLUMBUS — The Ohio Elections Commission has found probable cause for the charges Ashtabula County Treasurer candidate David E. Brown has filed against Cliff Ward, Brown’s attorney Ken Piper said Friday.

Brown and his attorney attended the probable cause hearing in Columbus Thursday, where the four-member panel ruled in Brown’s favor, moving the case to a full hearing in front of the entire Ohio Elections Commission. The full hearing will determine whether there is sufficient factual evidence to file criminal charges against Ward, Piper said.

“This is the first step,” he said.

The letter, which Brown believes violates Ohio election laws, states Brown was indicted for the rape of a female while he worked

as a deputy sheriff in Fayette County, W.Va. The letter reportedly is being placed in mailboxes and newspaper boxes of individuals who have Brown’s political signs in their yards, or those of his opponents, according to the complaint.

If the full hearing determines the election laws have been violated, the case will be turned over to the Ashtabula County Prosecutor’s Office and criminal charges will be filed, Piper said.

Brown also filed a complaint with the Ashtabula County Board of Elections; however, Piper said the board said the complaint needs to be handled by the state elections commission.

“I guess Ashtabula County doesn’t care if the elections laws are being violated, in my humble opinion,” Piper said.

The complaint filed with the state election commission and the county board of elections requests an investigation into the “failure of the author of the letter to report the outcome of the indictment referenced in the letter as required by the Ohio Revised Code” and also “the reckless disregard of reporting that Brown raped a woman in West Virginia.”

According to Fayette County Court records, the charges against Brown were “dismissed with prejudice” on March 28, 1985.

A civil complaint was also filed in Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court, alleging libel against Ward, as well as two other complainants named in the lawsuit as John Doe and Jane Doe. Piper said it is unknown who the other two individuals are, but they have been seen driving a small vehicle.

Brown is seeking $100,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs. Piper said, he has not heard anything yet on the status of the civil complaint, but assumes Ward has been served by now. Once Ward is served, he has 28 days to file an answer to the complaint, he said.