Former rec. park owner arrested again

PERKINS TWP. — The former owner of a now-shuttered indoor amusement park is facing additional sex charges. This weekend, Robert L. Stein, 42, of the 900 block of Fifth St., Sandusky, was charged with one first-degree felony count of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition. Perkins police arrested him on Saturday and took him to Erie County Jail where he remains locked up under a no-bond order. He's scheduled for a 9 a.m. arraignment on Monday in Sandusky Municipal Court, according to jail records. Stein was originally arrested on Feb. 10 when he was charged with one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a fifth-degree felony. Detectives continued to investigate Stein, and at least one additional alleged victim came forward to share their story, according to Perkins assistant police Chief Martin Curran. After consulting with prosecutors, the additional charges were authorized. He owned Adventure Play on Milan Road (U.S. 250) near Walmart. It was touted as Ohio's first and largest indoor inflatable park with an emphasis on youth play. The initial allegation Stein allegedly exchanged sexually explicit images and videos with a minor in late January, according to Perkins police Detective Joseph Rotuno. The exchanges took place over the social media app Snapchat. After investigating the allegations, police executed a search warrant at Stein's home on Feb. 10. Stein was present and arrested during the warrant search. None of the illegal behavior took place at the recreation center, according to Rotuno. Stein and the minor interacted over Snapchat on Jan. 26, police said. Rotuno said the minor later came to the realization that the conversation was inappropriate and reached out to a friend. Rotuno said the friend then reached out to another individual about the situation. That individual is a mandatory reporter, which is a person in a profession who is legally obligated to inform law enforcement upon hearing about or whenever suspecting a child is a victim of abuse. That reporter initially contacted Sandusky police, who realized the alleged illegal activity occurred in Perkins Township and forwarded the information to that department. Adventure Play closes After ownership was reportedly transferred out of Stein's name, the park was shortly thereafter shuttered in early March. "After much prayer, reflection and consideration, we have made the difficult decision to announce the closure of Adventure Play," according to a statement from Adventure Play, noting it takes immediate effect. The statement didn't identify who made this post nor did it cite a reason for why it's shutting down. "All future booked parties will receive full refunds, and all current membership payments have ended," the post read. The move came after discount peddling website Groupon announced it was no longer selling deals involving the recreation center. "We are aware of the charges involving the owner of a merchant previously featured on our platform," said Mike Tepelin, a Groupon spokesperson. "As soon as we learned of the situation, we severed our relationship with the business and began issuing refunds to customers who purchased vouchers. The safety and trust of our customers are our top priorities, and we act quickly when concerns like this arise," he said.