Jacob Rosado remains in jail, case headed to grand jury

ELYRIA — The case against Jacob Rosado will go before a Lorain County Common Pleas grand jury after he waived a preliminary hearing Thursday in Elyria Municipal Court. Rosado, 24, of Elyria has been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor after the drowning death of Vincent Pabon, 16, of Sheffield Lake last month. Pabon was last seen alive entering the woods beneath the East Falls with Rosado on Aug. 6, where Rosado told police the two spent the night drinking alcohol he had provided. Rosado reported Pabon missing on the morning of Aug. 7, roughly three hours after Pabon had fallen into the Black River and not come back out, he told police. Elyria police charged Rosado with felony tampering with evidence and misdemeanor contributing to the unruliness of a minor, both in relation to the allegation he provided Pabon with alcohol in the hours before his death. He was later also charged with another felony, pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, based on material police found while searching his phone. Rosado was set to face those charges before Elyria Municipal Court Judge Robert White on Thursday in a preliminary hearing, but defense attorney James Ingall waived Rosado's right to that hearing. Because Rosado faces felony charges, the case will now go before a Lorain County Common Pleas grand jury, which will determine if there is probable cause to indict Rosado on the charges against him. If Rosado is indicted, his case will be assigned to a Common Pleas judge for trial. In addition to the preliminary hearing being waived, White also ruled to keep Rosado's bond at $100,000. Rosado is currently in the Lorain County Jail. Elyria police Chief James Welsh has told The Chronicle previously that his department was awaiting a final toxicology report and cause of death finding from Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller before deciding whether to charge Rosado with additional crimes in relation to Pabon's drowning. Miller said on Thursday that he was still waiting for the toxicology report to be returned, but he did not expect it would take much longer. With the case now set to go before a grand jury, any additional charges would likely also be determined by the jury. A request seeking comment was left with Ingall on Thursday evening. The pandering charge he now faces is not the first time that Rosado has been charged with a felony in a case involving a minor. In 2021, Rosado was indicted on a count of gross sexual imposition, which refers to unwanted sexual contact involving a person who is unable to consent due to either force, impairment or being under the age of 13. Rosado eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of attempted criminal child enticement, or the act of trying to entice or lure a child younger than 14 to accompany an unrelated adult. Sheffield Lake police records show that when Rosado was living in that city at the age of 19, there were repeated complaints made against him for asking teenage boys to take a ride in his car. According to records, at least one boy alleged that Rosado had touched him inappropriately when the boy was younger than 13, leading to the gross sexual imposition charge which was later pleaded down. Pabon's family has said that Vincent was the victim in that case. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.