ST. CLAIRSVILLE - An Urbana, Ohio, man was returned Sunday to the local area to face charges after being accused of raping a Belmont County girl over the course of two years.
In an unrelated arrest, a Lansing man who is a registered sex offender, was held today accused in the attempted sexual battery of a teen in a local business.
Jason E. Dickerson, 36, is being held in the Belmont County Jail on the first-degree felony rape charge. The alleged victim, a village of Belmont resident, is a relative of Dickerson, and he is accused of raping her multiple times from 2005-07. Her alleged sexual victimization began when she was 8 years old, Belmont County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Joseph Hummel said today.
According to Hummel, law enforcement inUrbana arrested Dickerson on June 15, at the request of the Belmont County Prosecutor's Office.
Hummel said Dickerson has an extensive criminal history with arrests under at least six aliases. He said evidence in the case has been forwarded to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in London, Ohio.
Meanwhile, William Redman, 49, of 55010 National Road, Lansing, is being held in the Belmont County Jail on a fourth-degree felony charge of attempted sexual battery and a probation violation. Hummel said Redman reportedly approached a 17-year-old Belmont County girl Sunday afternoon in a Bridgeport-area business. He said the suspect allegedly attempted to touch the girl and made sexual comments to her. According to the chief, the girl resisted Redman's alleged advances, and the suspect ran when the girl told him her mother was about to arrive at the business. He was arrested by deputies in the area a short time later, Hummel said.
Hummel said Redman, a registered sex offender, also may have a residence in Elm Grove. "There's a problem with this guy," Hummel said. "This happened in broad daylight in an open retail store."