MOUNT VERNON — Three Mount Vernon men were indicted by the Knox County grand jury Monday for several serious sex crimes. The cases are unrelated.
Aaron Mitchell, 37, Mount Vernon, was charged in the rape, sexual battery, extortion and attempted sexual battery of his two stepdaughters. One of the victims was 17, while the other was 18 at the time of the alleged offenses. It is illegal in Ohio to engage in sexual activities with one’s biological or step-children, Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville said. Knox County Children Services has become involved.
Mitchell was arrested in March on a federal warrant executed by the FBI Crimes Against Children Task Force with the assistance of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office; he is currently being held in federal custody, according to McConville.
Content recovered from the phone indicated that Mitchell was pressuring her to engage in sexual activity with him, according to McConville. McConville said the stepdaughter told the police during interviews that Mitchell was extorting her for sexual favors; she further reported that her younger sister was also being sexually abused by Mitchell.
Mitchell allegedly raped the younger stepdaughter between December 2017 and December 2018. The younger stepdaughter was 17-years-old at the time, according to the indictment.
Mitchell also reportedly threatened to withhold the older stepdaughter’s birth certificate, which she needed to apply for jobs, unless she engaged in sexual activities with him, McConville said.
McConville disclosed that investigation found nude photos of the older stepdaughter in Mitchell’s possession. Because the older stepdaughter is developmentally disabled, Mitchell was further charged with illegal use of an impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, according to McConville.
Mitchell was indicted on charges of rape, a first-degree felony, and sexual battery, a third-degree felony, against the younger stepdaughter. He was also indicted for extortion, a third-degree felony, attempted sexual battery, a fourth-degree felony, and illegal use of an impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, a fifth-degree felony, against the older stepdaughter.
In addition to the Knox County charges, Mitchell is also being charged in federal court, according to McConville.
In another FBI-involved case, Jacob Lyons, 41, Mount Vernon, was allegedly found to possess sexual images of an Alabama woman and her 14-month-old toddler.
McConville said Lyons befriended the woman on Facebook and began exchanging sexual messages and images with her. At least five of the images involved nudity of the 14-month-old child and two images involved the child in sexual activities, according to McConville.
McConville said the case came to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office’s attention after a third party found the images on a phone that Lyons left behind.
Lyons was indicted on five counts of illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material or performance, fifth-degree felonies, and two counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor are fourth-degree felonies.
The FBI was notified and made an arrest in Alabama related to the case, according to McConville.
Chase Huffman, 22, Mount Vernon, was indicted for reportedly soliciting a 15-year-old minor for sex on at least 10 occasions on Facebook. The investigation also found that Huffman had requested and received nude photos from the minor, in addition to sending pictures of his genitals to the minor, according to McConville.
Law enforcement was alerted by a Knox County juvenile probation officer of the incident, said McConville.
Huffman was indicted on 10 counts of importuning, fifth-degree felonies, three counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, second-degree felonies, and three counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, fifth-degree felonies.
McConville said that internet sex crimes on Facebook are “more common than you think.” He advised that parents should monitor their children’s social media activities. An unusually withdrawn demeanor or unusual interest in sexual activities may be a sign that a child is being victimized, said McConville.
Unrelated to sex crimes, a Mount Vernon man was indicted by the grand jury on two counts of felonious assault, second-degree felonies, in a May 13 stabbing incident on Spruce Street.
Joshua Parker, 26, reportedly stabbed a male victim with a kitchen knife during a physical altercation at the Spruce Street residence. Allegedly, Parker had engaged in a fistfight with the victim shortly before the stabbing. The two briefly disengaged before a second fight ensued in which Parker grabbed the kitchen knife and stabbed the victim, according to McConville.
Law enforcement arrived at the scene after the fights had occurred and the victim was in the process of being transported to Knox Community Hospital, from which the victim was then transferred to a Columbus hospital, McConville said.
The victim sustained an abdominal stab wound that was “several inches deep” and “two to three inches in length,” according to McConville. McConville reported that the victim received several stitches both internally and externally, but no vital organs were damaged.
This is a different incident from the May 17 stabbing on South Jefferson Street. The Jefferson Street case is still currently under investigation.
Other indictments issued by the grand jury Monday: Robert Pipes, 52, Utica, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a first-degree misdemeanor; Kiknei Rush, 38, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, possession of heroin, a fifth-degree felony; Emily Peck, 66, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; Taylor Kesman, 26, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, possession of drugs, a first-degree misdemeanor; Lee Ehrike, 41, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; Robert Snow, 54, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; Debra Wells, 62, Danville, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony; Meranda Harford, 42, Mount Vernon, two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, third-degree felonies; Jerry Swoveland, 54, Warsaw, aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony, receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony; Brock Kutscher, 31, Coshocton, two counts of having weapons while under disability, third-degree felonies; Kylee Miracle, 22, Mount Vernon, two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, fifth-degree felonies, two counts of possessing drug abuse instruments, second-degree misdemeanors; Raymond Williams, 50, Mount Vernon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony.
