PREBLE COUNTY — A Preble County resident and trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol was arrested on sex charges and indicted in Preble County Common Please Court on Monday, Feb. 4.

Christopher Ward, 45, who was based at the OSP’s Piqua post, is facing charges including two fourth-degree felony charges of gross sexual imposition, and one third-degree misdemeanor gross sexual imposition charge.

According to published reports, the charges stem from one instance when Ward was on duty during a traffic stop, and the other when he was off-duty. One alleged victim is a juvenile and the other an adult.

Ward was originally taken into custody at the Preble County Jail, but was transferred to Butler County at his own request. He was bonded out on Tuesday, was no longer in custody at press time.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations is investigating.

Ward was arraigned on Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Preble County Common Pleas Court, where he entered a plea of “not guilty.” A jury trial in the case has been scheduled for Monday, April 8, at 8:30 a.m.