A Portsmouth, Ohio, couple is behind bars on child sex abuse charges, and Scioto County Sheriff David Thoroughman said his department learned of the heinous crime in a very unusual way.
Last Saturday, Deputies arrested Andrea Crager, 37, of Main Street, after responding to her home on a domestic violence call. Law enforcement charged Crager with domestic violence against a family member.
When the court released Crager on bail on Monday, she asked for a police escort to her home to pick up her things. While on the way to Crager’s home, officers received information about an alleged sexual assault involving a child.
They immediately contacted the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victim Unit, and Detective Sergeant Jodi Conkel responded to the scene to investigate.
Conkel discovered that an adult male had engaged in sexual contact with a juvenile girl for over a year. Conkel contacted Scioto County Children Services, and two children were immediately removed from the home. The girl was taken to SOMC and then transferred to Adena Health Systems, in Chillicothe, for treatment.
Deputies then arrested Nathaniel L. Fodge, 37, of Main St. in Portsmouth on charges of sexual battery, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and child endangerment.
Officers also arrested Andrea Crager again, this time for complicity in sexual battery, complicity to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and child endangerment. She is also in the Scioto County Jail with a bond set at $150,000.00 bond.
Sheriff Thoroughman praised his officers, the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Office, and Scioto County Children Services for working together to quickly bring about an arrest. The sheriff said the investigation is still ongoing and that more charges could be filed.
Anyone with information should call Detective Sergeant Jodi Conkel at 740-351-1091
