PERU — A Huntington man is under arrest after police say he had inappropriate contact with two juveniles while on a Miami County camping trip in July 2021.
Per court records, Joseph Zettee, 31, is facing charges of child molesting, a Level 4 felony, performance harmful to minors and performance before a minor that is harmful to minors, both Level 6 felonies, for his alleged role in the case.
The charges stem from an investigation that began in August after the father of the two children — who were 9 and 17 at the time the alleged incident occurred — alerted the authorities, according to court records.
Due to the court documents in the case being heavily redacted, it’s unclear what relationship, if any, Zettee had to the two alleged victims, but the 9-year-old recalled the day in question in an interview with police back in August.
During her interview, the 9-year-old stated that her brother and she were reportedly playing cards with Zettee inside a tent at Honey Bear Hollow, a campground in Miami County, court records state.
The girl also told police that her parents were with them at the campsite, though they were inside another tent when the alleged incident occurred.
At some point in time, the conversation with Zettee allegedly turned sexual, according to the girl’s interview as highlighted in the probable cause affidavit, and Zettee reportedly asked the girl to show him her breasts.
The girl also told authorities that when she refused to do so, Zettee responded that when she turned 18, they should “hook up,” court records state.
Zettee then reportedly put his hand under the girl’s shirt and allegedly rubbed her breasts, the girl told police.
In a separate interview, police also spoke with the 17-year-old involved in the incident, who stated that Zettee allegedly began making “nudity dares” while the three were playing cards, which escalated to “sexual act dares” with his younger sister and him, according to court documents.
The boy also told police that Zettee and him engaged in oral sex, though he (the boy) did not want to, per court records.
Zettee reportedly denied these allegations when questioned by authorities in early September, though the affidavit notes he later admitted that he did engage in sexual acts with the 17-year-old.
However, Zettee still denied having any alleged sexual contact with the 9-year-old, the affidavit added.
Zettee is being held at the Miami County Jail, and he has a pretrial conference set for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 17 inside Miami Circuit Court.