Brothers held on $500,000 bond each in sexual offense case

POMEROY, Ohio – Two brothers are being held on high bonds following indictments on sexual offense charges.

According to Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney James K. Stanley, on October 15, 2018, he requested, and Meigs County Court of Common Pleas Judge I. Carson Crow ordered, bond to be set in the amount of $500,000 with no 10 percent allowed for each James Hess and John Hess, Jr.

The Hess brothers were indicted on October 10, 2018. James Hess was indicted for four counts of rape, each a felony of the first degree, and four counts of gross sexual imposition, three of which are felonies of the third degree and one of which is a felony of the fourth degree. The allegations against James Hess involve four minor victims. John Hess, Jr. was indicted for three counts of rape, each a felony of the first degree. The allegations against John Hess, Jr. involve one minor victim.

On October 11, 2018, the Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, along with the Meigs County Department of Job and Family Services and the Pomeroy Police Department, executed arrest warrants on the Hess brothers. They have been incarcerated since that time.

These cases will proceed in the Meigs County Court of Common Pleas. James Hess is scheduled for trial on December 20, 2018, and John Hess, Jr. is scheduled for trial on December 18, 2018.

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.