Man indicted in child rape case

An arrest warrant was issued for a 25-year-old Cleveland Heights man indicted Friday accused of using an online gaming platform to meet a 12-year-old girl this summer before sexually assaulting her.

Malik Perkins-Terriss Williams, is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 28 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for one count of rape of a child younger than 13.

An investigation began in July following allegations of a sexual assault involving a child in Moraine, according to the Moraine Police Division.

“At that time the suspect was reported to have initially contacted the minor victim over an online gaming platform,” police stated in a release. “The suspect continued to groom the child on social media until the victim provided him with their residential address.”

Williams entered the girl’s bedroom around 4 a.m. July 26 through a window and sexually assaulted her, according to Kettering Municipal Court records.

The girl was under the impression Williams was coming over to play Fortnite, according to an affidavit. She reported the assault on July 28 and was treated at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

“Malik Williams was identified as a suspect after a search warrant of his Snapchat account revealed messages between him and the victim to include her sending him her address,” an affidavit read. “A search warrant on his phone service produced a … report showing Malik Williams drove to Moraine, Ohio, from Cleveland, Ohio, during the early morning hours of July 26, 2021.”

A search of Ohio’s DNA Index System matched Williams to the DNA collected in the case, according to court records.