BATAVIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — 13 people in Clermont County have been indicted on several sex crimes, including various crimes against children, Prosecutor Mark Tekulve announced Wednesday.
Tekulve said a grand jury indicted 12 men and an unnamed minor for charges, including rape of multiple children under the age of 10, violent sexual assaults against children as young as infants and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Those indicted on those charges are:
- Benjamin Holden
- Jose Jareo
- Wayne Moore
- Darren Homer
- Richard Hogue
- Samuel Ramirez
- Landerous Boyd
- Gavin Thompson
- Daniel Bowling
- Joshua East
- Dillon Jacobs (indicted March 12)
- Logan Zimmerman (indicted March 12)
- Unnamed juvenile
The Clermont County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Ramirez, 45, was indicted on 32 counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition.
WATCH: Several of the men appeared in Clermont County court Wednesday
The sheriff's office said a juvenile told Clermont Mercy Hospital staff that she was a victim of prior sexual assault while being treated for unrelated injuries. Investigators spoke to the juvenile and found that she and two of her siblings learned they were each sexually assaulted by Ramirez between the ages of 9 and 14 years old.
Ramirez told detectives he is "currently in the United States illegally" and is a citizen of Guatemala, the sheriff's office said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has placed an immigration detainer on Ramirez pending further proceedings.
Prosecutor Christina Dattilo said that the alleged victims lived in the home with Ramirez.
"There are either seven or eight children also living in that home. So we would ask that there to have no contact with the victims, no contact with any minors," Dattilo said.
The prosecutor also addressed four defendants who appeared in court on charges of possessing child sex abuse material.
"In doing this for as many years as I have, these are some of the most disgusting images that I have ever seen, as young as babies as pacifiers," Dattilo said, in regards to the charges brought against Holden.
Dattilo also said in court that East was acting as a "vigilante."
“He told Detective Hawkins that he was sending and receiving child pornography in order to ‘catch predators’. So essentially, he’s reporting that he is a vigilante," Datillo said.
Six of the men charged were investigated by detectives with the Goshen Township Police Department.
Outside of those men, who were all indicted Tuesday, Tekulve said Logan Zimmerman and Dillon Jacobs were previously indicted on March 12 for rapes of an adult woman and a female minor, respectively.
Zimmerman was arrested in Tennessee, but Jacobs is still at large, Tekulve said. Authorities are currently seeking any information about his whereabouts.
"The investigators and road patrol work tirelessly to protect the children of this community," Tekulve said. "The effects of prosecuting these monsters for CSAM cases will potentially help children all over the world."
Editor's note: This story previously incorrectly reported Mark Tekulve's first name. This story has been updated to correct the error.
