Recent campaign ads accusing Ohio Democratic attorney candidate Marc Dann of being soft on sexual predators have left the former Liberty Township senator outraged.

“It’s just ridiculous to think the father of an 11-year-old daughter would be soft on sexual predators,” Dann said. “Nobody in the state believes that, and it’s an insult of intelligence to people in this state.”

His opponent, Republican candidate Betty Montgomery, plans to target sexual predators. Jennifer Detwiler, spokesperson for the Montgomery campaign, said the first one of these efforts, “Get Tough,” would initiate a mandatory prison sentence for individuals convicted of a sex crime who fail to register.

“We need to know where they are,” Detwiler said. “If we don’t know where they are, you can’t keep track of who they might harm.”

Dann is more focused on implementing changes in statewide business practices that would free up money in the state budget to use toward college tuition, provided the Ohio legislature approves his plans.

“Montgomery, Blackwell and Taft are bleeding money out of the budget that should be used to pay for your tuition,” he said.

Contact public affairs reporter Ben Breier at [email protected].