Civil Rights & Constitutional Law
Chandra Law obtains $2,000,750 jury verdict for former police chief LaMont Lockhart against the...
December 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Convict former Port Clinton Fire Chief Kent Johnson's mugshot, via the Ottawa County Sheriff
PORT CLINTON, OHIO — Convicted felon and former Port Clinton, Ohio fire chief Kent Johnson filed a motion for early release October 3, 2025, seeking to shorten his 180-day sentence for assaulting his former fire-fighter employee, Rebekah Huskey-Archaki, to just 90 days.
In a letter to Special Prosecutor Gwen Howe-Gebers, the Huron County Prosecutor who was assigned the criminal case after the Ottawa County prosecutor recused, Rebekah Huskey-Archaki’s counsel said she strongly opposes Johnson’s early release. Johnson was convicted earlier this year of assault, menacing, and taking intimate photos from her phone without consent. The letter was also sent to visiting Judge Robert Christiansen, who oversaw the criminal case.
The full letter can be read here.
Johnson was sentenced in July 2025 to 180 days in jail after pleading no contest to multiple charges. The case arose from a long-running campaign of sexual abuse and intimidation that Johnson is alleged to have, and is now convicted for having, waged against Ms. Huskey-Archaki.
According to Ms. Huskey-Archaki's lead counsel Subodh Chandra's October 7, 2025 letter, no one informed Ms. Huskey-Archaki of Johnson’s early-release motion or sought her input, a violation of her rights under Ohio's Marsy’s Law constitutional amendment, which guarantees crime victims the right to be heard and to confer with prosecutors before major case decisions.
According to Johnson's motion, Special Prosecutor Howe-Gerbers told Johnson’s counsel that she would not oppose this attempt to shorten Johnson’s sentence.
If that's true, Ms. Huskey-Archaki views it as a betrayal.
“Ms. Huskey-Archaki deserved to be consulted and heard because your position deprives her of some of the fractional justice she received,” wrote attorney Subodh Chandra, “She strongly urges you to file an opposition with the Court to ensure Johnson serves the entirety of his meager sentence.”
Chandra’s letter also criticizes Johnson’s attorney for mischaracterizing the assault as “nonviolent” in his motion to the Court. The letter states that Johnson's assaults caused significant physical pain and emotional harm and that Johnson’s attempts to downplay his crimes “show that [he] fails to grasp the seriousness of what he has perpetrated.”
“Johnson has not learned his lesson,” Chandra wrote. “He should not be permitted to evade the full—albeit short-lived—consequences of his actions. He should have to serve every day in jail that the Court ordered.”
The letter also condemns what it describes as “secret deals” and a pattern of excluding the victim, Ms. Huskey-Archaki, from key decisions, including Johnson’s no-contest plea and now his early-release request.
“Ms. Huskey-Archaki already feels that her wishes have been cast aside throughout this process,” Chandra wrote. “She hopes that you will not let her down again, after she got such a small modicum of justice to begin with.”
Chandra emphasized that the Court already considered Johnson’s health issues during sentencing, and that “nothing has changed drastically enough to warrant Johnson’s early release.”
The firm urged the prosecutor and Court to ensure that Ms. Huskey-Archaki’s rights as a victim are fully honored before any decision is made on Johnson’s request.
Members of the public who wish to express opposition to Johnson's early release may email cpclerksfilings@co.ottawa.oh.us gwen.howe-gebers@henrycountyohio.gov.
The Chandra Law Firm represents Ms. Huskey-Archacki in her ongoing federal civil-rights lawsuit against Johnson and other officials for violations of her constitutional rights, including illegal searches and seizures, unconstitutional sex discrimination in violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause, sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Ohio Civil Rights Act (Revised Code Section 4112), First Amendment retaliation, civil liability for various criminal acts, and other abuses of power.
The lawsuit alleges that Johnson used his authority as fire chief to carry out a pattern of sexual harassment and assaults, intimidation, surveillance, and theft aimed at silencing and controlling her.
You can read the third amended federal civil-rights complaint and other details of the case on this blog.
The Chandra Law Firm LLC is a boutique civil-rights and white-collar-criminal-defense firm with offices in Berkeley, California; San Diego, California; Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; and Reno, Nevada. Its lawyers handle high-profile matters across the country involving government abuses of power, police misconduct, and constitutional violations.
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