Real estate agents fear sex offender is targeting female Realtors in Northeast Ohio again

Editor's note: The Summit County Prosecutor's Office investigated the reports mentioned on social media and found Robert Willett was not the individual who recently approached a female real estate agent.

A Barberton registered sex offender with a history of sexually harassing female real agent agents in Northeast Ohio may be targeting Realtors again, according to warnings on social media and from the Summit County prosecutor.

Robert Willett, 67, was reportedly at a recent open house in Sagamore Hills when he asked the Realtor how long she had been there. According to a recent Facebook post, the Realtor called her friend who called the police, and Willett left when he heard the Realtor saying the police were coming.

Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich said Wednesday that his office was made aware of the Facebook post concerning the recent reports about Willett.

"Mr. Willett previously targeted female real estate workers and recent reports indicate Mr. Willett is again targeting women who work in real estate," Kolkovich told the Beacon Journal in a prepared statement. "We are investigating these reports. In the meantime, I urge anyone working in real estate to be extra vigilant especially when coordinating meetings for home viewings.”

Robert Willett's history of targeting female Realtors

Willett was arrested Jan. 18, 2010, for attempted abduction and possession of criminal tools when he tried to lure a real estate agent to a home, the Beacon Journal previously reported. The Realtor worked with local authorities on a sting operation to capture Willett after she received a pornographic image on her cellphone Jan. 3. Ten days later, Willett called her to set up a visit for a house that was on sale and he was eventually arrested when he arrived at the property.

Police said Willett was found with nylon flex cuffs, scissors, a knife, a box cutter and a Norton Fire Department badge on him when he was apprehended. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In 2013, Willett was arrested after reportedly attacking a real estate agent in Stark County, bear hugging her and causing a struggle between them. She was able to escape and drive away, and Willett was later identified by the DNA extracted from a soda bottle he left inside the realtor's car, according to the Summit County Prosecutor's Office.

The Summit County Prosecutor's Office warned local real estate agents when Willett was released in June 2016 for a litany of crimes involving local Realtors, including being charged with gross sexual imposition for an incident in October 2006. In that incident, the Beacon Journal reported that a female real estate agent said Willett met her at a house and he allegedly hugged her and grabbed her buttocks before leaving.

Willett has been known to use at least two aliases — Bill Parks and Tim Ramsey — when setting up meetings with various Realtors, according to the 2016 warning. At open houses, Willett illegally signed the guest book and typically lingered to the end, being the last guest to leave. Following his June 2016 release, he was on probation for three years where he was not allowed to have any contact with real estate agents or agencies.

"Extreme caution should be taken when scheduling appointments with unknown clients and open house showings," the alert warned.

How can Realtors protect themselves?

Mike Valerino, CEO of the Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors, said the company sent out an alert about Willett to local Realtors in April, and will soon send out another. He noted real estate agents can do a number of things to protect themselves from predators when it comes to open houses.

"Some things we encourage our realtors to do is to always follow the client into the room, we don't want them to go into the room first," Valerino said. "A lot of Realtors utlize social media to advertise open houses, but we want them to be careful of what they are posting, we want them to include only what is necessary."

Valerino noted that Realtors are encouraged to alert other agents when they are holding open houses, to tell clients that the premises are monitored by security cameras and to meet potential clients in a public space or at the office for the first time.

"We offer self-defense classes to our agents but we hope they never have to use these skills to defend themselves," Valerino said. "We listen to our members and we take their concerns seriously and do everything we can to alert our members to potential dangers including Willett."

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Robert Willett may be targeting female Realtors in Northeast Ohio