Middletown man indicted on child rape charges

Three people were shot and one of those people has died in a shooting Tuesday night in the 700 block of Second Street in Hamilton. | NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Three people were shot and one of those people has died in a shooting Tuesday night in the 700 block of Second Street in Hamilton. | NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

A Middletown man has been indicted on multiple rape charges involving a child under the age of 13, according to court records and prosecutors.

Joshua L. Lockard, 41, is facing felony charges of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony; pander sexually oriented matter involved a minor, a second-degree felony and four counts of rape involving a minor, a first-degree felony.

Joshua L. Lockard. BUTLER COUNTY JAIL

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According to the indictment, the alleged sexual assaults occurred between June 2016 and May 31 of this year. There is one victim who is known to Lockard, said Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Lindsay Sheehan.

Lockard was arrested by Middletown police on June 17 when the victim and her mother responded to the police station to report the crimes, according to court records. His case was then bound over to the county for grand jury consideration.

The case is assigned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Noah Powers II and his scheduled for arraignment July 30. Bond was set at $210,000 in Middletown Municipal Court.

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