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Charges dismissed for Louisville man allegedly found naked in teen's Florence bedroom

Boone County Sheriffs car 2022
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FLORENCE, Ky. — A grand jury has determined there was not enough evidence to indict a 20-year-old man whom the Boone County Sheriff's Office said was found naked in a 13-year-old's Florence bedroom in April.

A Boone County grand jury returned a ruling of "no true bill" on the charges the man had faced, which means the grand jury found there was not enough evidence to pursue those charges against the man.

According to the sheriff's office, the 20-year-old was initially charged with one count of burglary, two counts of rape and one count of sodomy.

A press release from the sheriff's office said officers were dispatched at around 12:33 a.m. the morning of April 28 for reports of shots fired in Florence. WCPO is not reporting where in Florence, to protect the identity of the juvenile victim in this case.

The sheriff's office said a man told deputies he woke in the middle of the night when he heard noises coming from his 13-year-old's room. When he entered the room, he found an adult man lying naked on the bedroom floor, the sheriff's office said.

"After telling the suspect that he was calling the police, the father went downstairs and soon retrieved a hand gun," reads the press release.

However, in that time, the man pushed past the father and ran out of the house; the father ran after him and fired three shots into the ground near the front porch of the home, according to police.

Deputies on the scene found an unoccupied vehicle parked on a nearby street; the father positively identified the man after he was shown a driver's license photo tied to the vehicle's registration.

The Florence Police Department and Boone County Sheriff's Deputies searched the surrounding area for the man, including deploying a drone to aid in the search. The drone helped officers find the man near I-71/75 and Mt. Zion Road. He was arrested on burglary charges at 2:34 a.m.

After his arrest, police said the man was interviewed by a detective at the Boone County Sheriff's Office. Police said during that interview, the 20-year-old told the detective he drove from Louisville to meet the victim at their home, "and made admissions which led to additional rape and sodomy charges."

The Boone County Sheriff’s Office says this case falls in line with others they've seen, with the victim and suspect interacting before their sexual encounter.

According to Major Phillip Ridgell, the public information officer for the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the man and the alleged victim met by chance in person in Boone County.

“They ran into each other essentially, they exchanged phone numbers and began communicating with each other just about two weeks ago,” said Ridgell.

Ridgell added that the victim “explicitly” told the man she was 13 years old, but that she believed he was just 15.

Kramer is currently being held in the Boone County Jail on a $250,000 bond.

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