Volunteer Church Bus Driver Charged with Aggravated Sexual Abuse of Minors

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has charged Jory Leedy, 46, of Franklin, Ohio with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving a minor in an indictment returned in Cincinnati.

Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil and other members of the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations (RECI) Task Force announced the indictment returned today.

The indictment alleges that Leedy sexually abused two minor boys as young as seven and eight years old. He allegedly met the victims through his volunteer work as a bus driver for Target Ministries of Dayton, who provided transportation and assistance in poorer neighborhoods in the Dayton area.

Eventually, Leedy allegedly ingratiated himself into the family and began visiting the victims’ home, taking them to church in Cincinnati and on trips to the zoo, Cincinnati Reds games and Kings Island. He began taking the boys on vacations out of state.

Leedy had allegedly provided the family with a fake name. His true identity was discovered during an altercation with the victims’ father in which the police were called. Police advised the parents of Leedy’s true identity and that he was a registered sex offender.

It is alleged that the defendant sexually abused the victims consistently for more than two years and that he threatened the victims that if they told anyone what happened he would not able to take them fun places anymore or buy games and clothes for them.

Aggravated sexual abuse involving a person less than 12 years of age carries a potential maximum sentence of up to life in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Christy L. Muncy, who is prosecuting the case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.