Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH WEBSTER -ÊA North Webster man was arrested Wednesday afternoon for alleged child seduction.
Ricky Joe Swope, 46, of Ponderosa Drive, North Webster, was arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail around 1:17 p.m. Wednesday on one count of child seduction. According to the Indiana Criminal Code, when a person "engages with a child in sexual intercourse, deviate sexual conduct or any fondling or touching with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the child or the adult, the person commits child seduction, a Class D felony."
According to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, the girl, now 16, recently told a friend she had been having sex with the man for the past three years.
Police interviewed the victim and forwarded the information to the Kosciusko County Prosecutor's Office. A warrant was issued for Swope's arrest after the information was reviewed.
Swope is a youth pastor at a church in the county.
The incident remains under investigation and more charges may be forthcoming.
