SIDNEY — Sexual imposition and unlawful restraint charges against local Tropical Smoothie owner Ravikumar (“Rocky”) Patel for conduct toward a 16-year-old female employee remain pending, and are scheduled for an Oct. 14 final pretrial hearing in Sidney Municipal Court.
Patel, of Lexington, Kentucky, has been charged with sexual imposition and unlawful restraint stemming from an incident in May at the restaurant.
According to a Sidney Police report, Patel, 33, entered the bathroom at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 2380 W. Michigan Street at the same time as a 16-year-old female employee. The employee told police Patel blocked her from the door, attempted to hug her and pulled hair behind her ear. When he moved to allow her to leave, she said Patel smacked her butt as she left.
City of Sidney Law Director David Busick, whose office prosecuting the case, confirmed via email this week both charges against Patel are being pursued.
Two pretrial hearings on the pending charges have already taken place. The most recent, on Aug. 26, was closed to the public without prior notice or written order justifying closure. The Daily News filed motion on Friday, Sept. 6, to challenge the last pretrial hearing closure and to ensure public access to the final pretrial hearing scheduled for Oct. 14.
Patel’s lawyer Jeremy Tomb, of Troy, contacted the Sidney Daily News following an article published on Aug. 10 about the May incident. Tomb raised claims of falsehoods printed in the paper and accused the publication of falsely claiming Patel had been charged with sexual imposition. The email from Tomb also claimed Sidney Daily News was “conspiring to blackmail” Patel.
The Sidney Daily News has denied Tombs’ claims about its coverage.
“All of Mr. Tombs’ claims about the Daily News coverage of the two charges against his client over incident are baseless. The Daily News has simply reported to its readers what appears in the court file and in the Sidney PD report of Patel’s misconduct,” Sidney Daily News general manager Natalie Buzzard said.
The Daily News is seeking to open the Oct. 14 pretrial hearing to the public to ensure that its readers can be kept informed on a matter of public importance.
Billing is the editor of the Sidney Daily News and can be reached at [email protected]. Edmiston is a multimedia reporter and can be reached at [email protected].
