WESTFIELD — A 20-year-old man who preyed on girls in Hamilton County by using social media to meet them is under arrest and facing three counts of child molestation.
Benjamin Owen Rollo was arrested last week after a lengthy investigation into contact he made with girls between 11 and 15 years old in Hamilton County.
Investigation into Rollo began in 2022 when police learned of a 12-year-old being raped in a car at Grand Park in Westfield.
The rape at Grand Park occurred when the then 12-year-old girl and her friend snuck out of a sleepover to meet Rollo. When they met him, he drove the girls to Grand Park and eventually raped one of them, according to court documents.
The girls eventually told police they made contact with the man, later identified as Rollo, through Snapchat username "Johnny.backer".
Police linked Rollo to the Johnny.backer profile and tied him to multiple instances of contacting underage girls and asking for nude photos.
Rollo's uncovered messages found him telling the girls that his biggest turn-on was "lil girls like you."
Messages also uncovered Rollo's bragging of sex with another teenage girl.
Another 14-year-old girl's rape was discovered from December 2022 during the course of the investigation. Following the incident, Rollo attempted to convince the girl it was not rape, according to court documents.
Rollo was taken into custody in West Lafayette last week.
During questioning, Rollo confessed to having sex with each of the girls, but told police he thought it was consensual. He also estimated himself to have more than 1,000 images of young girls on his computer and phone.
