2 counts Child Molesting (1 Class A Felony, 1 Class C Felony)
Cause number 57D01-0609-FA-000018

1 count Failure to register as a Sex Offender (Class D Felony)
1 count Sex Offender Residency Violation (Class D Felony)
Cause number 57D01-0609-FD-000229

Previous convictions:

09-12-00 Fulton County Georgia Aggravated Assault
05-05-03 Scott County Indiana Child Molesting

Jesse Clayton Cole was convicted in Scott County Indiana in 2003 for Child Molesting where an eight year old male relative was the victim.  Cole was also suspected of molesting two other young male relatives in another Indiana County; However, was not charged. 

Cole was released from prison on September 10, 2004, and registered as a sex offender with the Noble County Sheriff’s Department on September 14, 2004, as he was required to do by Indiana Law.

On July 1, 2006, a new Indiana Law came into effect prohibiting certain convicted sex offenders from residing within 1000 feet of school property, a youth program center, or a public park.  The law also defined “reside” as spending more than two nights in a residence in any 30 day period.  IC 35-42-4-11

On August 30, 2006, the Noble County Sheriff’s Department received information that Jesse Cole was living approximately 580 feet from the Kendallville Northside Elementary School, which violated the new 1000 foot residency law.  Cole was allegedly living with a female friend and her five year old son, and reportedly babysat the son during the day when the mother would go to work.  During the investigation of the residency offense, the child’s mother stated that Cole was never alone with her son and he had stayed there before, but not more than two days in the last 30 days. The mother also admitted to knowing that Cole was a registered sex offender.

On September 4, 2006, the Kendallville Police Department received a report of possible child molestation that had occurred with Jesse Cole being the suspect and the five year old son of Cole’s friend being the victim.  During that investigation, officers of the Kendallville Police Department were able to secure a warrant for the arrest of Jesse Cole for one Class C felony count of child molesting and one Class A felony count of child molesting.  The warrant was issued on September 5, 2006 and service of the warrant was attempted at the residence Cole had registered as a sex offender at, but he was not located. 

After the issuance of the warrant, the mother of the victim was again contacted by Detectives of the Noble County Sheriff’s Department regarding the initial investigation of the sex offender residency violation.  During the second interview, the victim’s mother admitted that the information she had originally given was incorrect and Cole had in fact been at her house most of the month of August.  She said Cole also watched her son while she would work and Cole acted as her babysitter.  The mother said that she met Cole on a computer dating website and they had been dating since June.  A second warrant was issued for the arrest of Jesse Cole for one count of failure to register as a sex offender and a sex offender residency offense, both Class D felonies. 

Jesse Cole fled the area in a maroon 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee that he co-owned with a former girlfriend.

During the second week of October 2006, Cole contacted the former girlfriend and told her that he was going to mail the key to the Jeep to her and give her the location where it was parked.  On or about October 20, 2006, the former girlfriend received the letter containing the key to the Jeep and its location and was able to pick the Jeep up at a parking garage at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. 

On November 2, 2006, the Noble Superior Court Division 2 granted Noble County Sheriff’s Department detectives a subpoena for the cellular telephone records of Jesse Cole in an attempt to track his whereabouts.  On November 15, 2006, the cellular telephone records were received and revealed that Jesse Cole had traveled to Tennessee the day the first warrant for his arrest was issued.  From Tennessee, Cole traveled through Arkansas, Missouri, Minnesota, and North Dakota, where the cell phone records ended due to a computer problem with the cell phone service provider.  Cole’s travels through these states all took place in the span of twenty days.

Jesse Cole is knowledgeable in the use of computers and likes to visit computer dating websites, and met the victim’s mother on Plentyoffish.com.