A registered sex offender in Ohio admitted Monday to molesting two minor brothers who he came into contact with while volunteering as a church bus driver.
As reported by WKRC, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced that Jory Leedy, 49, pleaded guilty in federal court to several counts of sex with a person under 12 years old. The mother and the victims—a 7- and 8-year-old boy—met Leedy in 2012 when he drove for a ministry in Dayton and began coming over nightly to play with the boys and eat dinner with the family.
Leedy, who stopped volunteering as a bus driver shortly after meeting the boys, had reportedly bought them clothes and games and took the boys to church in Cincinnati and on trips in an out of state. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the registered sex offender “ingratiated himself into the family.”
“Leedy arranged for the purchase of a car for the family. He helped enroll the boys in a private school. Further, Leedy assisted the family in securing another home that was owned by a friend of his; Leedy paid for part of the rent,” the office said in a statement obtained by WKRC.
According to the report, Leedy claimed his name was Jordan, which prevented the victims’ mother from locating him when she checked the sex offender registry. Leedy also had a previous conviction in Montgomery County for gross sexual imposition involving a child less than 13 years of age, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Federal prosecutors said the abuse came to light during an altercation between the victims’ father and Leedy, resulting in a call to Fairborn police. Officers ultimately uncovered his true identity and informed the parents of his sex offender status.
The victims accused Leedy of abusing them over a period of two years, reportedly telling police that it occurred all over the country, including in Kentucky, Florida, and New York.
A 2016 indictment obtained by The Enquirer stated that between March 1, 2014, and September 1, 2015, Leedy crossed states lines with the intent to engage in sexual acts with a child younger than 12. Court documents stated that Leedy also confessed to sexually abusing an underage relative from 1999 to 2001, when he took him on trips.
[Featured image: Jory Leedy/Handout]