An investigation into retaliation claims by a court reporter against a Butler County judge she was having an extramarital affair with cost taxpayers nearly $45,000.

Documents obtained by the Middletown Journal/Hamilton JournalNews show Reynoldsburg attorney Scott Warrick billed the county for 179.75 hours at $250 an hour for a total of $44,937.44 to investigate allegations filed by court reporter Jennifer Olivier against Judge Michael Sage after their 9-year affair ended.

Warrick, a specialist in labor and human resources law, was appointed to the investigation because he has no ties to the court or the county, according to court officials.

In a report released in July, Warrick cleared Sage and others of any wrongdoing in the workplace.

“In my opinion, Ms. Olivier’s legal claims have no merit at all,” Warrick wrote. “What Ms. Olivier seems to forget through all of this is that she simply does not have clean hands here. Ms. Olivier is the other woman.”

“Where I see Judge Sage experiencing a great deal of embarrassment, I do not see that same response in Ms. Olivier,” Warrick said in the report. “If people treat her differently because they know of this affair, which I do not believe is happening here, there is nothing illegal about that. “

In the complaint, Olivier said Sage pursued a personal relationship with her in 2003, a year after she became a county court reporter.

Olivier said Sage ended the nine-year relationship in December and after the breakup Sage’s bailiff and judicial assistant were rude to her and she was no longer included in office gatherings.

She also alleged court administrator, Gary Yates, and other court administrators treated her unfairly after the break up, specifically implementing a plan to rotating court reporters, meaning she would no longer be assigned to Sage’s courtroom.

Yates said talks about rotation of the five court reporters began in October and was a plan he had considered for several years. The decision was made because there had been a disparity among court reporters for years when it came to income from transcripts.

Because Yates was named in the complaint, he could not conduct the investigation and Warrick was appointed by Judge Charles Pater, administrative judge.

In the report, Warrick said Sage does not deny the affair, but he recommended no discipline for the judge or the other employees. The report says Olivier created a hostile work environment.

He added, “In short, I see Ms. Olivier as the bully – and this conduct must not be allowed to continue for one more hour.”

Reynoldsburg attorney hired to investigate has billed the county nearly $45,000 for his services.