On Thursday, the Village of Bethel Council and mayor gathered for the first regularly scheduled meeting since former Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert's indictment on June 11.Essert was indicted on 70 combined counts of sexual bat tery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor just hours after village leaders had their last regular meetingMayor Jay Noble filed administrative charges against Essert on June 19, which began the process of Essert's removal as chief. Essert later resigned, which went into effect Thursday morning.As of 12:01 this morning, Mr. Chad Essert is no longer an employee of the village," Noble said.Watch: Bethel's mayor addresses former police chief Chad Essert Village of Bethel to look for its next police chief after former chief indictedThe mayor addressed his fellow elected officials and the people in the council chambers about what's next for the village and its police department.The next steps that I'm going to be taking is working with the solicitors office and with the administrator to get some ads out and start advertising for a new chief," Noble said. The mayor referred to the situation as "water under the bridge." Other members of the council discussed their hopes of moving forward as a village.During Thursday's public comment, Noble addressed direct questions on Essert's hiring. Noble defended the process to hire Essert back in 2021.I have no regrets over the past. Now, as far as what has happened and transpired, Im blown away by it," Noble said. The WCPO 9 I-Team investigated Essert's past before being hired in Bethel back in 2023.The investigation unveiled that Essert was terminated or forced to resign from three of his previous six police jobs before becoming Bethel's chief.The I-Team reviewed Essert's personnel records, finding allegations of dishonesty, disobeying orders and even sexual harassment during his time at different police departments.We spoke with former Woodlawn police chief Jeff Witte during that 2023 investigation, and again following Essert's indictment.I think hiring this person as chief was inappropriate," Witte said.Essert was placed on administrative leave weeks before his arrest in Pinellas County, Florida.We asked Noble about the search for a new police chief.What do you plan on doing differently in regard to searching for the next police chief?" we asked."Probably do a little bit more diligence in background and so forth," Noble said.He spoke about the impact that this has had on the whole community.Its a bad situation, I mean it's, you know, a gut punch," Noble said.Dawn Paul, a lifelong Bethel resident and village business owner, spoke about what she hopes to see in the search to find a new chief."Clearly the process hasn't worked; we want the process to change. More checks, balances, look into things better. Avoid situations like this again in the future," Paul said.Essert is due back in court on Aug. 11. ...read more read less