A Louisiana man has been sentenced to prison after he lived in a girl's closet for over a month, sneaking out to have sex with her when her parents weren't around. He will spend 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections after pleading guilty on Wednesday to having sexual relations with a minor.
Rossmoine Was Arrested in September 2020
Johnathan Rossmoine, 36, was arrested last September and charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, and one count of obscene communication, according to online records.
Hernando County Sheriff's deputies responded to a residence in Spring Hill, Florida, where the parents of a teenager found an adult man hiding in their child's bedroom.
When deputies arrived on scene they found the man, later identified as Johnathan Lee Rossmoine DOB/08-19-1984, was still hiding in the victim's closet.
Hernando County Sheriff's Office Detective Tom Cameron told TV station Fox13 that the girl's parents became suspicious when they heard noises coming from her bedroom.
The Girl Initially Told Rossmoine That Her Age is 18 and Not 15
The victim first met the suspect about two years ago while using an online chatting app, police stated. The app allows users to chat via text and voice using virtual avatars. The victim had claimed to be 18 before admitting to actually being 15 prior to any meet-up. She referred to Rossmoine as her boyfriend.
Rossmoine said he drove from Louisiana to Spring Hill on several occasions to have sex with the victim. The suspect advised on this current trip he had been in Hernando County for about five weeks and had sex with the victim on numerous occasions.
Rossmoine came out only after the Girl's Parents Left the House to Go to Work
Rossmoine would hide in the victim's closet until the victim's parents went to work, and he had sex with the victim in his van on numerous occasions, according to deputies. Rossmoine further said numerous sexual encounters also occurred in his van, which was parked in proximity to the victim's house. The victim indicated Rossmoine had been living off and on in the teen's bedroom since Aug. 19, 2020.
He was held on an initial $25,000 bond but now will serve out his sentence for a sex crime. Rossmoine will also receive a 10-year sex offender probation upon his release and will be required to report as a sex offender for the rest of his life, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
