An Ohio rapist exploited a mother by secretly knocking on the door to sexually assault the girl in the bathroom of a Five Below store, according to police.
Robert DeWeese He is facing charges of rape, kidnapping and more for the incident that happened in South Lebanon on February 6.
DeWeese, 37, went into the bathroom by imitating her mother’s unique knock that she told her daughter to listen to.
The mother told the 6-year-old girl she was going to buy her new pants after the child had an accident at the store, the Warren County Prosecutor said. David Fornshell.
“He told the daughter that he was going to get those pants and left the door locked until he heard a special knock, then he explained to the girl what the special knock would be,” said the prosecutor, according to the statement.
The man obeyed the mother’s instructions, according to detectives. Deweese allegedly used the man to enter the store’s bathroom before sexually assaulting the girl, WLWT reported.
The girl screamed, which scared the suspect who fled the area.
The victim’s mother called 911, according to WLWT, which was provided by the phone’s audio.
“My daughter was in the bathroom. She had an accident. I went to see if I could get her another dress while she was in the bathroom,” said the mother. “He says that a gentleman knocked on the door and came in and touched him when he was inside, and he shouted. [for] Help. He shouted for him to stop.”
DeWeese was later found at a relative’s home, according to WLWT. He had just been released from prison three days earlier, Fornshell said.
DeWeese reportedly has a history of sex crime convictions in all Ohio counties. He recently completed a three-year sentence after violating parole related to child sex crimes, WLWT reported.
“This boy is involved in sexual assault and harassment and had only been out for three days when he assaulted this 6-year-old girl,” Fornshell said, according to WLWT.
A man has been arrested in Pennsylvania after allegedly trying to buy a 6-year-old girl from her mother for $5,000 after babysitting the young victim. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Allegheny Township police said the incident occurred when Theodore Magee was asked to babysit a girl at his home. […]
DeWeese was charged with first-degree rape, as well as charges of sexual assault, kidnapping and kidnapping, according to records.
He is currently being held in the Warren County Jail, where his bond has been set at $1 million, according to a Facebook post from Fornshell.
It was not clear Sunday, March 8, whether DeWeese had hired an attorney to represent him about the allegations. DeWeese has not been asked to answer the charges against him.
If you know of a young person being bullied or a victim of a crime, you are urged to report it to your local FBI office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be left tips.fbi.gov
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in over 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
