On March 24, 2026, a counselor, MT, at a school in Maplewood reported that a student, V1 (YOB: 2014), disclosed that she was sexually assaulted by her mom’s ex-boyfriend approximately five years earlier. V1 told police that her mom’s ex-boyfriend sexually abused her repeatedly when school was online due to the Coronavirus pandemic. V1 said that when her mom went to work, her boyfriend called her into the bedroom to play games on his phone. V1 reported being excited initially because she did not have a tablet at the time.
While she was playing the game, V1 stated that her mom’s boyfriend undressed her completely and fondled her body, including her vagina and chest area, which made her uncomfortable. V1 reported that her mom’s boyfriend told her that it was part of the game experience and would not stop when she asked him to. V1 said that he threatened to assault her if she told her mom what happened, and that she believed him and was very scared of him. V1 stated that she never told her mom about it. V1 advised that in health class, they talked about body safety, and it brought back memories of the abuse, so she reported it to MT. V1’s mother, PRW, told police that her ex-boyfriend’s name was Jerome Ketchum, later fully identified as JEROME JOSHUA KETCHUM – [DOB REDACTED]. PRW reported that she met KETCHUM working at McDonald’s in 2020, and they dated for approximately two or three months due to inappropriate text messages she found on his phone with another male.
PRW said that the abuse reported by V1 would have occurred at an apartment in St. Anthony, Ramsey County, Minnesota. On April 1, 2026, V1 was examined at Midwest Children’s Resource Center. V1 told the nurse that while her mother was at work, KETCHUM called her into her mother’s bedroom and gave her a hand-held game to play then took off her pants and underwear and touched her genitals with his hand and also touched his penis. V1 reported that it stopped when he heard keys trying to get into the front door.
V1 said KETCHUM told her to quickly put on her clothes and not to tell anyone or he would kill her. V1 stated that during the second incident, KETCHUM called her into the bathroom and had her stand on the toilet then he touched and licked her genitals. Police were unable to contact KETCHUM at his listed phone number or address. KETCHUM is on probation for Third Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct-Victim 13-15-Actor >24m older in Ramsey County District Court File No. ••-CR-••-••••. The investigator contacted KETCHUM’s probation officer, LO, who provided KETCHUM’s current address and advised that he had a meeting scheduled with KETCHUM on April 20, 2026. On April 20, the investigator went to LO’s office to speak with KETCHUM. Following a Miranda advisory, KETCHUM confirmed that he met PRW while working at McDonald’s some time between 2019 and 2021. KETCHUM recalled that PRW had a daughter but did not remember her name.
