According to prosecutors, Robert Kevin DeWeese, 37, mimicked a prearranged signal to enter a locked family bathroom at a Union Township store on February 6. ' Prosecutors allege DeWeese overheard this signal and was able to get inside the bathroom after imitating it. The girl screamed so loudly it caused the suspect to flee, authorities said.
She relied on a technique called the 'Lion's Roar,' learned at Girl Scouts, to scream 'stop' as loud as she could. It allegedly startled DeWeese and sent him running out of the store. The mother called 911, reporting that a man had touched her daughter inside the restroom.
Warren County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched shortly before 3:10pm. Deputies later arrested DeWeese at a relative's home. DeWeese has been indicted on two counts of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition, and single counts of kidnapping and abduction.
A grand jury designated DeWeese a sexually violent predator. Court records indicate DeWeese had been released from prison just three days before the alleged assault after serving time for a parole violation. Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said DeWeese has prior sexual offense convictions, including an October 2021 conviction in Fairfield County for rape of a child younger than 13.
DeWeese has a record stretching back almost 20 years with court records seen by WLWT showing additional sex crimes in Clinton, Licking, and Franklin counties. Bond records show DeWeese is being held at the Warren County Jail on a cash-only bond set at $702,500, though jail records also list a $1 million bond associated with the case. During his arraignment on Wednesday, Jennifer Nicholson, assistant prosecutor for Warren County, said, 'He has no address.