Former Hamilton County sheriff Simon Leis has died.
Family members of Leis confirmed the news to WLWT on Saturday morning.
“Our family is deeply saddened by the passing of the Honorable Simon Leis Jr.,” the family wrote in a statement. “He passed peacefully this morning at the age of 92 after a 4 year battle with cancer. Simon dedicated his life to public service, the people of our community and the Catholic faith.”
“But we knew him as a devoted family man, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, relative, and friend whose love for his family and friends remained constant throughout his life,” the family’s statement continued. “We are grateful for the many expressions of kindness, prayers, and support we have received during this difficult time. As we mourn his loss, we also celebrate a life marked by commitment, integrity and service.”
Leis was Hamilton County’s top law enforcement officer between 1987 and 2012. Before that, he was a common pleas judge between 1982 and 1987, and served as Hamilton County’s chief prosecutor between 1971 and 1982.
A lifelong native of Greater Cincinnati, he is a 1952 graduate of St. Xavier High School and a 1956 alum of Xavier University. He later went on to obtain a law degree from Salmon P. Chase College of Law after enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps.
During his time as prosecutor, Leis became best known for leading the prostitution investigation of former Cincinnati City Councilman Jerry Springer, as well as convicting pornography mogul Larry Flynt on obscenity charges in the 1970’s.
Years later, Leis would also go on to gain significant national attention in 1990 during his first term as sheriff by arresting and charging Dennis Barrie, the former director of the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, for obscenity. This came after renowned photographer Robert Mapplethorpe held an exhibition at the Arts Center, with many of Mapplethorpe’s photos depicting subjects who were nude and engaged in sexually-suggestive poses.
Barrie would ultimately be acquitted of the charges by a Hamilton County jury, who ruled that the exhibition was legally-protected speech.
Leis, a Republican, was elected to office 10 different times in Hamilton County throughout his career.
In 2024, the Hamilton County Justice Center unveiled a plaque to honor Leis’s five decades of public service to the county.
Shortly before retiring as sheriff, WLWT’s John London talked with Leis in 2012 during one of his final interviews in office. At the time, the Hamilton County Justice Center was battling overcrowding, necessitating many male prisoners to be released to make space for female prisoners.
“The way I’m turning prisoners loose today, it’s frightening,” said Leis. “Judges don’t have any power whatsoever because they sentence somebody to our facility, and I turn around and cut them loose.”
“It just doesn’t happen infrequently; it happens every day,” he added. “I never dreamed I’d see this.”
Leis also reflected on his career, crediting his time in the Marine Corps as forming the foundation behind his work ethic as a law enforcement officer.
“It totally changed my pattern of life,” Leis told WLWT. “When I went to college, I was sort of a kid that went to school and did the least possible and kind of played hard, and when I went in the Marine Corps and went through that training, it totally changed my outlook on life.”
Months before, Leis was tapped to throw out the first pitch at Reds Opening Day in 2012, with former Reds owner Bob Castellini at the time calling him a tireless advocate for public safety throughout his career.
“He’s run his 800-person department like a Marine Corps company with precision and pride,” said Castellini. “The people of Hamilton County have been blessed to have Si working on their behalf to make our community a better place in which to live, work and play.”
As news about Leis’s death spread on Saturday, current Hamilton County prosecutor Connie Pillich said that she was “saddened” to learn about his death, saying that she respects his legacy of public service to the people of Hamilton County.
“I was saddened to learn of the passing of Simon Leis. My condolences to his family,” said Pillich. “While we held different views about many aspects of public policy and the criminal justice system, I respect anyone who dedicates part of their life to serving the people of Hamilton County.”
In lieu of flowers, Leis’s family is asking for public donations to be made to Madi’s House, a nonprofit organization established in honor of the former sheriff’s granddaughter, who died by suicide in 2019. The fund is being used to construct the Si Leis Wellness & Fitness Center, a mental health facility that will serve teens and young adults.
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