08/01/08 - Henderson County

Sex Offender Strikes Again
By: Lauren Linney
 
     In Henderson County, near Lexington, a sex offender strikes again. "We received information from one of the parents of the victim. We followed up on it, interviewed the defendant and just through the course of the investigation we were able to determine there was enough evidence to charge him. He did know the victim," says Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke.
 
     68 year old Rollan Eugene Freeman is charged with aggravated sexual battery for touching a 9 year old girl, and after some searching, investigators realized this incident was not Freeman's first offense.
 
     "We also found out he is a registered sex offender from an incident in 1998 and he is also on the TBI's website on their sex offender registry," says Sheriff Duke.
 
     According to the police report, the victim says Freeman took her outside to look at some trees on July 9. He began to tickle her and then touched her in the genital area. Freeman told investigators he didn't mean to go there.
 
     "The great thing is we've got this man back off the streets again so that there's hopefully no other victims. From a sheriff's standpoint, I'm proud of the department for doing what they did. From a parent's standpoint, I'm still proud of the department for being so aggressive and being so quick, " Sheriff Duke says.

     Freeman is in the Henderson County Jail tonight. No bond has been set, but he will appear in court on August 5.