Fairmont AD Brian Donoher on leave following sex arrest

DAYTON — Brian Donoher, the athletic director for Kettering Fairmont High School, has been placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest Wednesday in Dayton on suspicion of soliciting prostitution.

Donoher, 42, the son of legendary University of Dayton men’s basketball coach Don Donoher, was taken to the Montgomery County Jail where he was held briefly on suspicion of soliciting and possessing criminal tools — both misdemeanors — before posting 10 percent of his $3,250 bond.

No formal charges have been filed, according to Dayton Municipal Court records. Donoher is scheduled to appear Friday in Municipal Court for an initial appearance.

Dayton police Lt. Brian Johns, head of the narcotics/vice unit, Thursday said Donoher was arrested during a decoy operation targeting sex customers. He said the operation is part of the department’s participation in “National Johns Week.”

“The vice unit is focusing on the men who come to Dayton to buy sex,” he said. “We have, in the past, focused on the women involved and not seen a substantial decrease in this type of crime. We’re hoping that focusing on the men will change that.”

Under state law, a criminal tool is anything — a cell phone or a computer, for example — that is used in a crime, Johns said. The lieutenant said Donoher was taken into custody when he offered an undercover female officer money in exchange for sex. Johns declined to release any further details on the decoy operation, saying it is continuing.

In the past, the Dayton vice unit has used undercover officers posing as street prostitutes. The unit also has done Internet sting operations.

Johns said the current investigation, dubbed Operation Oasis, also includes offering help to the women involved in the sex trade through the Oasis House, which can provide support and services to the women.

The Kettering resident has been Fairmont’s athletic director since 2008, and served as Sidney High School AD for two years prior to that. He is not a teacher at Fairmont, and does not possess a teaching degree.

Kettering Superintendent Jim Schoenlein said he spoke with Donoher briefly Wednesday night.

“I told him we were putting him on administrative leave,” he said. “We want to wait and see what happens, and see how the legal proceedings unfold.”

Schoenlein said he was understandably shocked by the news.

“He has given us every indication that he was a model employee, model father,” he said.

Donoher’s initial appearance was set for Friday afternoon.

Schoenlein said Assistant Athletic Directors Joy Manning and Frank Baxter would fill in for Donoher.

“We have to make sure all our athletic work gets done,” he said.

Before becoming AD, Donoher spent 12 years as a men’s college basketball coach with Wright State, Wittenberg, Akron, Stetson and Miami University.

Donoher, who is married, is an Alter High School graduate who played basketball for the Flyers for two seasons and also a year at Wittenberg. He graduated from UD in 1992.

Staff writer Katie Wedell contributed to this report

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