Rape suspect pleads to lesser charge

Van Wert independent

A Middle Point man who was supposed to go to trial Monday on rape charges, instead entered into a plea agreement just minutes before the trial was to get underway.

Thomas M. Roberts Jr., 36, pleaded guilty to a charge of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, which replaced the original rape count, while the escape charge was dismissed in exchange for Roberts’ guilty plea.

Roberts was indicted by the December 2010 session of the Van Wert County Grand Jury on charges of rape, a first-degree felony offense, and escape. The rape charge alleged that Roberts had sex with a person under the age of 13.

Roberts was also charged with escape for fleeing from a deputy transporting him from his home on November 23, 2010 — following his arrest on the rape charge — to the Van Wert County Correctional Facility. Roberts reportedly duped the transport deputy into thinking he was getting ill. To give Roberts some air, the deputy rolled down a back window and Roberts, who was handcuffed, then managed to open the cruiser door and jump out as the vehicle slowed to cross railroad tracks not far from his residence.

Deputies searched the area where Roberts escaped, but couldn’t locate him. Other law enforcement agencies were also put on alert, which resulted in the Middle Point man being apprehended later at a home in that county by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department.

Judge Charles D. Steele ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 7. Roberts faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 – half of what he would have received if convicted on the rape charge. He is also expected to be classified as a Tier II sex offender, which would require him to register twice annually at the sheriff’s department in the county in which he resides and/or works for the next 25 years.