Leesburg Man Faces Sexual Battery ChargeA Leesburg man faces a sexual battery charge after allegedly supplying an underage girl with alcohol and attempting to have sex with her.
Jeffery James Oswalt, 38, of 5219 E. CR 500N, #3, Leesburg, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 4:20 p.m. Thursday for sexual battery. His preliminary bond was set at $15,250.
Court documents filed Aug. 9 list the charges against him as sexual battery, a level 6 felony; and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a Class A misdemeanor.
On July 24, a North Webster Police officer was waved down by a person who said that a girl under the age of 18 had just been touched inappropriately by a man. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputy James Smith was contacted by the officer about the incident and Smith told the officer to have the girl and the person who waved him down to meet Smith at the sheriff’s department.
Smith met with the girl who said that she and two of her friends were taken to Oswalt’s residence by a boy. The girl said Oswalt provided her and her two friends with alcohol while the boy went fishing. The girl said that while she was drinking, Oswalt made inappropriate comments to her, alluding to them having sex.
The girl said her two friends passed out and she and Oswalt were the only people awake in the residence. She said Oswalt came up behind her and began touching her, according to court documents. He attempted to unbuckle her belt, but she pushed him away and ran out of the residence. She then contacted somebody who picked her up.
Messages from the victim were provided to police and claimed Oswalt kept touching her and talked about having sex.
The boy said that while he never went into the residence, while he was fishing he heard the victim and one of her friends yell for him to come to them. He said that when he returned to them, he saw the victim crying and she told him that Oswalt had touched her.
