May 21, 2025 By Garrett Neese 4 min read

Greene County officials said they have yet to make any decision on security changes at a county-owned building in Waynesburg where a county employee was allegedly sexually assaulted on May 7.

Commissioner Jared Edgreen said a committee including board members and Sheriff Marcus Simms has been meeting to consider potential changes to security or policies at county facilities, including the county’s Department of Human Services offices at the Fort Jackson offices on Washington Street — where the alleged assault occurred.

“It’s combing over that and then hearing from other considerations and other potential voices of what other upgrades we can do within the county,” he said.

Edgreen said that would include listening to the concerns of employees, as well as potentially vendors of security technologies.

County Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said any improvements would still be made public. Facility upgrades would require county funds, which would require the commissioners’ approval, as would any policy changes, he said.

Timothy Hilverding, 36, faces rape and other charges related to the alleged assault. He was arrested shortly after fleeing the conference room in the county’s Fort Jackson offices where the assault allegedly took place on the morning of May 7. He had come to the building and asked to speak to someone at the Department of Human Services housing program, according to court paperwork.

After an employee took Hilverding to a conference room, he blocked her exit and pulled down her pants before the employee fought him off, aided by a co-worker from an adjacent room who heard the noise and intervened, the criminal complaint stated. A nearby probation officer who recognized Hilverding took him into custody.

Last week, Hilverding was held for court after a preliminary hearing and is scheduled for formal arraignment in the Greene Court of Common Pleas on June 23.

The commissioners and Simms met with staff the day after the incident to look at ways of making the building more secure.

The county has a security officer stationed at the entrance to the offices, where visitors must go through a metal detector and have their belongings X-rayed, Edgreen said earlier this month. Security officers also patrol the building during the day. The building also has cameras and various locked doors.

In an email, Simms said security improvements would be a mix of policy changes and long-term plans for facility and communication upgrades to create a safer environment for staff members meeting with clients.

Edgreen said any changes would be announced first internally to employees. He deferred comment on whether changes would be announced to the public to Solicitor Gene Grimm.

“It really drives on our meetings internally and then making our staff aware before we go public,” he said.

Grimm said changes would come before the board at a public meeting. Beyond that, he said, it’s premature to say what the announcement of policies could look like, noting that recommendations could span county-owned facilities ranging from the courthouse to the county fairgrounds.

Though the committee formed after the alleged assault is a new step, Grimm said the county has consistently reviewed its safety procedures. He estimated smaller issues are brought to the county’s attention about a half-dozen times a year.

Grimm compared it to a coal mine, where agencies like the Mine Health Safety Administration could be spurred by issues brought to their attention by the miners closest to the situation.

“I imagine the employees are going to have a large part of what we do in our discussions,” he said.

Grimm said any changes would need to balance public safety and employee safety with the public’s access to the government.

“It would be very easy to put guards at every door and restrict entry,” he said. “We can’t do that. The general public of Greene County and the citizens of Greene County have to have access to the public officials and the services that we provide … we can’t basically lock ourselves in and say ‘You stay out without an appointment.’ Government doesn’t work that way.”

Marshall said there are no fixed plans for what discussions will look like.

“That’s all fluid right now as far as what that’s going to look like, how it’s going to happen,” he said.