WARREN COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) – A man was indicted and designated a sexually violent predator Monday after he was accused of sexually assaulting a child younger than 13 in a Warren County store’s bathroom, court records show.
Robert Kevin DeWeese, 37, of Union Township, has been charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition, two counts of rape, abduction and kidnapping, according to an indictment in Warren County Common Pleas Court.
Court records state that he attempted to restrain and perform sexual activity with a child in the bathroom of a Five Below on Corwin Nixon Boulevard in South Lebanon Feb. 6, three days after being released from prison.
Warren County prosecutors said the girl’s mother was 30 to 40 feet away and had only exited the bathroom to get a change of pants for the child.
The girl’s mother had locked the bathroom behind her and gave the girl a special knock to signal her return, but prosecutors said DeWeese mimicked a knocking signal to get inside.
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The girl’s screams made DeWeese flee, but he was later arrested by deputies at a relative’s home, prosecutors said.
Grand jurors in the indictment also specified that DeWeese is a sexually violent predator, citing the victim’s age and a previous conviction in October 2021 in Fairfield County for sexual assault of a juvenile younger than 13.
DeWeese was taken to Warren County Jail, where he is being held on a $702,500 cash-only bond and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
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