Fired Lorain County Children Services caseworker pleads guilty to criminal charges

A former Lorain County Children Services caseworker accused of raping a child while on duty in 2021 recently pleaded guilty to lesser felony and misdemeanor charges. Kenneth Rummel, 29, of Brook Park, pleaded guilty to endangering children, a felony, and unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor, in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 23. As part of a plea agreement, Rummel will not be allowed to hold a job involving the care of children, Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre said Wednesday. Judge James Miraldi ordered a presentence investigation by the Lorain County Adult Probation Department and scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 13. Pierre said the victim in the case accepted the plea agreement. Prosecutors made no sentencing agreements with the defense, he said. A message seeking comment was left for David Grant, one of Rummel's attorneys. Rummel's trial on felony rape, kidnapping, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition charges had been scheduled to start in Miraldi's court on March 27. The charges were filed in late May 2021 following a Lorain Police Department investigation into allegations Rummel assaulted a child while working in the Independent Living Unit at Children Services. LCCS Executive Director Kristen Fox Berki said the abuse happened while Rummel was on the clock, and the agency was cooperating with Lorain police and county prosecutors on the investigation. Medina County Job & Family Services also began an independent investigation the day the allegations against Rummel were made, which was March 26, 2021. The agency was involved in the probe in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest, Fox Berki said. Rummel was placed on paid leave that same day, then went on unpaid leave on May 3, 2021. He was fired on June 28, 2021, Fox Berki said. According to his personnel file, Rummel was hired as a direct services caseworker in July 2018, applied to become an Independent Living caseworker in August 2020 and assumed that role in October 2020. The file, provided to The Chronicle-Telegram as part of a public records request, contained no disciplinary records. Rummel had received only positive performance evaluations from supervisors prior to the allegations. Rummel earned bachelor's and master's degrees in social work at Cleveland State University, according to his file, and worked as a case manager at the Parma Family Area Collaborative — now known as Southwest Community Based Services — from 2014 to 2018, according to his personnel file. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.