Area man again faces molestation charges

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

For the second time in six years, a Delphos man is accused of molesting a young girl in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court — this time for incidents that occurred nearly 20 years ago.

Michael D. Closson, 68, was arraigned last Wednesday on four counts of gross sexual imposition, each a felony of the third degree. The indictments state that, on or about July 7, 1998, through January 1, 2001, he “had sexual contact with (molested) a girl who was under 13 years” of age. According to the indictment, the girl was between the age of 7 and 10 years old when the alleged incidents occurred.

Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger said the alleged victim in the case, who is now in her 20s, recently came forward with the charges, which were investigated by the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office and then turned over to her office for further action.

Yarger’s office then took the case to the June session of the Van Wert County Grand Jury, which handed down felony indictments in the case.

Closson, who denied the charges, is currently free on a personal surety bond, with orders to have no contact with the alleged victim. He will appear for a pretrial conference in connection with the case at 8 a.m. Monday, June 25.

The Delphos man was convicted in 2012 of gross sexual imposition in July 2012 and was given five years of community control, which included serving six months in the Van Wert County Correctional Facility, for molesting a 3-year-old girl under similar circumstances.

In the 2012 case, the father of the young victim asked that Closson be sent to prison for molesting his daughter, but the Delphos man was given community control instead, although in addition to serving jail time, he was ordered to register as a Tier 2 sex offender for the next 25 years and was banned from being in the presence of minor children unless supervised.