For immediate release
Investigators with the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office have charged Jason Haren, age 42 of Byesville has been charged with Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, a Felony of the Third Degree, as well as Importuning, A Felony of the Fifth Degree.
An investigation was initiated after authorities from the Noble County Sheriff’s Office contacted Guernsey County Sheriff’s Detectives to advise them of a video they had discovered of a 13-year-old boy performing sexual acts with an adult male. The video was discovered during a similar investigation in Noble County. It was also discovered at this time that the adult male in the video was wearing a t-shirt of a Guernsey County volunteer fire department and was believed to be a member.
Guernsey County Sheriff’s detectives, with the assistance of the Byesville Police Department, were able to positively identify the male as Jason Haren. Investigators located Haren a short time later and he was taken into custody and transported to the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office. Haren was then questioned by Guernsey County Sheriff’s Detectives and admitted to performing sexual acts with the 13-year-old boy and offering to repeat the sexual acts after he learned of the boy’s age. Haren was then placed in the county jail.
Sheriff Paden said that this is the second case, this week alone, that his detectives have investigated these similar incidents, in which adults have either attempted to or have had sexual conduct with a child. Both of these investigations stem from the use of various social media apps. Sheriff Paden strongly urges parents to frequently monitor the devices as well as the apps their children are using and monitor who they are communicating with as often as possible.
Sheriff Paden says that it has been the collaborative effort of Guernsey County Sheriff’s Detectives Brian Carpenter, Sgt. Bill Patterson and Byesville Police Chief Daulton Dolan that have landed these individuals in the Guernsey County Jail.
