SCIOTO COUNTY, Ohio — Scioto County Sheriff David Thoroughman reported that a School Resource Deputy was informed on September 12, 2024, about an incident involving three juvenile females. The deputy determined that the complaint required law enforcement intervention and contacted a detective for further investigation.
Detective Sgt. Jodi Conkel, in collaboration with the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Special Victim’s Unit, responded to the school. Sgt. Conkel interviewed one of the victims and a witness, and later located another victim, gathering more information. The investigation revealed that the suspect had asked a 12-year-old girl to have sex with him. Additionally, it was discovered that on a separate occasion, the suspect had a juvenile girl ask her 13-year-old friend if she would have sex with him.
Sheriff Thoroughman stated that deputies and detectives searched multiple locations for the suspect without success. On September 13, 2024, a detective visited the suspect’s residence but received no response. The suspect was eventually contacted by phone and answered the door. He was then taken to the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation, leading to his arrest.
The suspect, identified as 50-year-old Jerry Curtis Huggins of 348 Haney Road, Wheelersburg, Ohio, has been charged with two counts of importuning. One count is a second-degree felony for a child under 13, and the other is a fifth-degree felony for a child aged 13. Huggins appeared in Portsmouth Municipal Court on Monday, September 19, 2024, and is being held on a $15,000 bond.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Sergeant Jodi Conkel at 740-351-1091.