Home » Courts » Accused sex offender charged with intimidating victim

Accused sex offender charged with intimidating victim

A 46-year-old man has been charged with multiple sex crimes, as well as felony intimidation of a victim.

Paul M. Lhotka, of Clintonville, is accused of having sexual relations with a teenaged girl between Oct. 3 and Dec. 15, 2009.

Misdemeanor charges related to the alleged incidents were filed against Lhotka earlier, but dismissed without prejudice in 2010, leaving the case open to future prosecution.

The victim in the original complaint is now a married adult who told investigators she fears for her safety.

In April 2012, the woman was out with her husband when Lhotka allegedly walked up to her and grabbed her buttocks and hugged her against her will. As the woman struggled to pull away, Lhotka placed a dollar bill in her bra, she said.

According to the criminal complaint, Lhotka drove slowly by the couple’s home on several occasions, sent the woman text messages and emails, threatened her and offered to pay her for sex.

The woman said the calls were so bad she changed her phone number four times in 2 1/2 years.

During this same period, the couple experienced ongoing vandalism to their home. The siding was cut, the garden hose punctured and the tires on a trailer were slashed.

The woman’s husband told police he stepped out of the shower and saw Lhotka peering in the bathroom window.

One day, while the woman remained home because she was pregnant, the husband went out to buy her something to eat. He reported that Lhotka approached him, opened a pocket knife and threatened to “cut his face off” if he ever saw him again.

The woman was so terrified she was afraid to leave the house and put blankets over the windows and weights against the doors.

Lhotka was released from custody after posting a $3,000 cash bond.

Scroll to Top