Farmer charged in juvenile sex case

A sheep farmer in Greene County is facing charges after allegations surfaced last month that he sexually assaulted a boy at his farm earlier this year.

William Randy Rife, 71, who owns Rife Shropshires sheep farm on Clifton Road in Miami Twp., has been charged with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, both third-degree felonies.

Rife appeared Monday in Xenia Municipal Court with his attorney, Jay A. Adams, after he was arrested Friday by the Greene County Sheriff ’s Office.

Rife is out of jail after posting 10 percent of a $25,000 bond and Judge Michael K. Murry allowed the defendant to remain free pending his next court appearance.

The male victim in this case was 15 between January and March when Rife allegedly “touched him sexually,” according to the statement of facts on file with the court by Greene County Detective Warren Hensley.

“There were multiple acts of sexual conduct during the time period of January to March 2018,” according to Hensley’s statement. “The acts occurred in the home and barn on the Clifton Road property.”

The victim told the detective he worked for the defendant at the farm from Jan. 8 until Nov. 8, according to court records.

Authorities first began investigating after the victim’s father contacted the sheriff ’s office on Nov. 16, according to court records.

On Nov. 30, investigators set up a “controlled call” between the juvenile and defendant, during which the two discussed the previous sexual activity and set up a meeting to meet later that evening, according to court records. Rife was arrested that Friday evening, according to jail records.

Rife was interviewed by this news organization in April after a tornado touched down on his property, destroying a porch, grain bins, barns and killing at least four sheep. Rife said in the interview he’d been on the farm since first renting it in 1969 and buying it in 1972.

The case against Rife is expected to be bound over to Greene County Common Pleas Court where the prosecutor’s office would present evidence to a grand jury to seek an indictment.

Each charge, as filed in Xenia Municipal Court, carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.