BROWN COUNTY — A 40-year-old Columbus man faces two Level 4 felonies in Brown County after after a girl reported he had inappropriate contact with her twice.
Jeffrey Batton was formally charged on Feb. 5 with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.
On Jan. 26, Detective Brian Shrader with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department responded to Johnson Memorial Hospital after the minor had reported being raped. She told Shrader that Batton had inappropriately touched her twice.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim immediately told her grandfather that she had been assaulted after the second occurrence.
The victim’s mother told police that Batton also had allegedly touched other juveniles in the past.
Shrader went to the place where the incident happened and spoke with people who were there at the time. He noted that Batton’s mother’s story of what happened was different than anyone else’s, including Batton’s.
The victim’s grandfather told police that she had come running to him, shaking and crying. Both grandparents told police that the victim is a straight-A student and would not make something like this up.
The victim’s siblings were in the room sleeping when the incidents happened. One of the siblings called their mother because she knew something wasn’t right after seeing the victim run to her grandfather.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
