Two men charged with sex crimes involving minor girl
Washington County prosecutors charged two men with child sex crimes last week. James Aaron Pettus, 43, of Bonne Terre, and Robert Eugene Rose, 51, of DeSoto, are charged in separate cases with crimes against the same minor girl. Pettus is charged with two felony counts of sexual misconduct involving a child under 15. Rose is charged with one felony charge of enticement or attempted enticement of a child less than 15.
A probable cause statement from the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) says that investigators received an assistance request to assist the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) on June 27, 2022. Facebook account information was reviewed, and concerning messages between the girl and Pettus were found. Inappropriate messages between the girl and Rose were also found.
In an interview, the 14-year-old girl told investigators Pettus sometimes visited her home. On one occasion in Oct. 2021, the girl alleges she was sitting on the couch in the living room beside Pettus, and he showed her sexually explicit videos of himself on his phone. The girl said that on another occasion in Oct. 2021, she was lying on her bed in her room when Pettus came into the doorway of her room and exposed his genitals to her.
Messages on the girl’s Facebook account show messages between the girl and a man named Aaron Glore, an alias name used by Pettus. In the Facebook messages, Pettus requested pictures of the girl and asked what she thought when he showed her “stuff like that.” The girl said she thought it was “wrong and disgusting” and told Pettus to stay away from her. Pettus apologized and said it would never happen again. The girl said she was afraid of Pettus and felt he was “stalking” her Facebook page. Pettus claimed it was a misunderstanding and it wouldn’t happen again.
A witness also told Pettus to stay away from the girl. Pettus told the witness he believed the girl was 17. The witness stated she saw Pettus stop in the doorway of the girl’s room and then leave the house. The witness says the girl came out of her room crying and told the witness Pettus had just exposed himself to her. The girl also told the witness Pettus had shown her explicit videos of himself and had begun messaging and asking for photos of her.
A second probable cause statement from STAT says Rose and the girl sent messages to one another on Oct. 30, 2021, regarding meeting to have sex. Rose and the girl continued to send sexually explicit messages to one another for months. The girl sent photos of herself in a bra and pictures of herself in the bathtub to Rose. Rose reportedly responded with messages stating she would make him wreck his car and called her gorgeous. The statement says they talked about spending the night together in her bed, what they would do, and how much fun it would be. The girl said Rose sent her pictures of his genitals after she sent him the pictures of her in the tub and her bra.
Witnesses say the girl told them she and Rose had exchanged sexual images, but Rose denied that it happened. After repeated, unsuccessful attempts by Rose to get in touch with witnesses, Rose admitted the girl sent him photos, and he deleted them. Rose told investigators he remembered the girl put nude pictures of her chest and genitals on his phone when she borrowed it while he was visiting her home.
A criminal history review for Rose on Missouri Case Net shows a misdemeanor conviction for operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license. Pettus has a much longer case net history with previous felony convictions for possession of controlled substances, tampering with a motor vehicle, and possession of chemicals with the intent to manufacture. Rose’s misdemeanor convictions are for resisting arrest and assault.
Rose also has three pending cases in Jefferson County, which include felony charges for possession of controlled subs, leaving the scene of an accident, and tampering with a motor vehicle. One misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia is included in the pending Jefferson County cases.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Department has active arrest warrants for Rose and Pettus. Neither has been served at the time of this report.
