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Ohio babysitter charged with raping multiple children in his care; police seek additional victims

AKRON, Ohio — An Ohio man has been charged with six felony rape counts involving children he was paid professionally to babysit, and authorities are searching for potential additional victims.

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According to court records, Timothy Luna, 25, is being held on $500,000 bail and was also indicted on three counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of importuning, WOIO reported.

The Summit County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to the Akron Beacon Journal that the charges stem from incidents involving several children in three communities across Summit and Cuyahoga counties dating back to 2018.

Investigators determined that Luna found babysitting jobs through caregiver location service Care.com, WOIO reported.

Meanwhile, officials with the Parma Heights Police Department confirmed Friday that Care.com has provided information to investigators, the Beacon Journal reported.

According to court records, Luna is accused of raping a 6-year-old child from late 2021 through June 25 and a 9-year-old child during a two-week period beginning Oct. 1, 2018. He was indicted on a charge of importuning for online solicitation of a 13-year-old child, the Beacon Journal reported.

In turn, the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office is asking anyone who hired Luna as a babysitter, either through Care.com or other services, to contact their local police department or the following investigators: Detective Eric Taylor, Parma Heights Police, (440) 884-1234; Detective Kelly Brown, Akron Police, (330) 375-2552; and Detective Byron Cadwell, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, (330) 643-2181.

A Care.com spokesperson issued the following statement Friday:

“We are horrified by this report, and our thoughts are with any impacted family. We take the safety of our community very seriously, which is why we require all caregivers to complete a background check before they can engage with families on our platform. This individual has been removed from our site, and we’ve taken steps to block him from ever re-enrolling. We have been in contact with law enforcement and are prepared to assist however we can and as this is an active investigation, we won’t comment further.”