A former Delaware City Council member pleaded guilty and was sentenced on two misdemeanor charges after prosecutors accused him of stalking and repeatedly contacting a Powell woman.
Cory Hoffman, 40, pleaded guilty April 17 to two charges of telecommunications harassment, according to online Delaware Municipal Court records.
One of the telecommunications harassment charges was a reduced from violating a protection order as a result of a plea agreement, according to the records. Two counts of menacing by stalking were dismissed.
Delaware Municipal Judge Kyle Rohrer sentenced Hoffman to 180 days in jail for each charge, but most of the time was suspended and he was given credit for time served, meaning he doesn’t have to spend any more time in jail.
Rohrer also sentenced Hoffman to two years of probation and ordered him not to have any contact with the woman, something he ignored three times previously, and to pay $1,074.65 in fees and court costs, the docket shows.
Prosecutors charged Hoffman in November with first-degree misdemeanor counts of telecommunications harassment and menacing by stalking after the woman told police Hoffman sent her a “multitude” of emails, using what police alleged in court documents were multiple email addresses between Oct. 22 and Nov. 20.
Prosecutors filed another menacing by stalking charge Jan. 1, after Powell police alleged Hoffman sent text messages, photos and a package with handwritten notes to the same woman.
For a third time, prosecutors charged Hoffman and had his bond revoked April 13 after police accused him of violating a protection order to have no contact with the woman.
Hoffman resigned his council seat on Jan. 5. First elected in 2019, Hoffman was reelected to Delaware City Council in 2023. His term was scheduled to expire in November 2027.
Delaware County and eastern Columbus suburbs reporter Maria DeVito can be reached at mdevito@dispatch.com and @mariadevito13.dispatch.com on Bluesky and @MariaDeVito13 on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Delaware council member pleads guilty to harassment charges
Reporting by Maria DeVito, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
