by PAT RAIA
A Louisiana man will spend 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to having sexual relations with a minor. The guilty plea stems from the September 2020 arrest of Johnathan Rossmoine on multiple charges including Lewd and Lascivious Behavior with a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, Obscene Communication, Travel to Meet After Use of a Computer to Lure a Child.
According to Michael Terry, deputy public information officer (PIO ) for the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), in September 2020, deputies responded to a call from the parents of a Spring Hill teenager reporting that they had discovered an adult man hiding in the child’s bedroom.
Upon arrival, deputies found a man later identified as 36-year-old Johnathan Lee Rossmoine hiding in the teen’s closet.
At that time, Rossmoine told deputies that he had driven from Louisiana to Spring Hill on several occasions to have sex with the teenager. He also said that during the September 2020 trip he had been in Hernando County for about five weeks and had sex with the teenage victim several times.
Further investigation revealed that the teen had initially met Rossmoine about two years before via an online dating app that allows users to chat via text and voice using virtual avatars.
The victim initially told Rossmoine about being 18-years-old before admitting to being 15 years old prior to their meeting. The victim also referred to Rossmoine as a boyfriend.
The teen told investigators that prior to the parents’ call, Rossmoine had been living in the child’s bedroom off and on since August of 2020. During that time Rossmoine would hide in the teen’s closet when the victim’s parents were home and came out only after they left the house to go to work.
Rossmoine told investigators that numerous sexual encounters with the victim took place in his van which was parked near the victim’s house.
Rossmoine was subsequently arrested and charged with four counts of Lewd and Lascivious Behavior with a victim between the ages of 12 and 16, Obscene Communication, Travel to Meet After Use of a Computer to Lure a Child.
He entered his guilty plea in Hernando County District Court on July 28, 2021.
In addition to the jail time, Rossmoine will serve 10 years of Sex Offender Probation after his release and will be required to report as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.
