New felony sex, pandering charges against suspect in drowning death of teenager

An Elyria man charged with causing the drowning death of a 16-year-old boy in the Black River in August is set to be arraigned today on nine new felony charges stemming from videos which prosecutors say show him sexually abusing the same boy. Jacob Rosado, 24, of Elyria, now faces six additional counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor and three counts of gross sexual imposition, all felonies, in an indictment handed up Friday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Judge Christopher Rothgery's courtroom. Rosado is charged with involuntary manslaughter and for allegedly causing the drowning death last year of Vincent Pabon, 16, of Sheffield Lake. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre said that during a search of Rosado's phone as a part of the investigation, investigators discovered three videos "of concern." Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Paul Griffin said that prosecutors believe the videos portray Rosado engaging in illegal sexual contact with an underage person that appears to be Pabon. He said that these videos were taken in March 2024, when Pabon would have been 14 years old. Rosado has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges, including two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count each of tampering with evidence, pandering obscenity and pandering sexually-oriented material, plus one misdemeanor charge of failure to comply with underage alcohol laws. The pandering charges stem from a separate video found on Rosado's phone, which Griffin said showed Rosado filming another child, who is not believed to be Pabon, having sex with someone. Pierre said that the Prosecutor's Office would seek to have the new charges combined with the charges Rosado already faced. Rosado's cases are assigned to Judge Chris Cook. Rosado was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $525,000 bond, according to jail and court records, after Cook refused to lower his bond at an April 23 hearing. His next pretrial hearing is June 1 in Cook's courtroom. A trial is tentatively scheduled for June 23. The manslaughter charges allege that Rosado illegally provided alcohol to Pabon, contributing to his drowning in the Black River beneath Elyria's East Falls on Aug. 7, 2025. Security camera video showed Pabon alive when he entered the woods with Rosado the night before. Rosado came out of the woods alone around 5 a.m. the following morning. He waited until 8 a.m. to tell Elyria police that he and Pabon had been hanging out in the woods along the river when Pabon fell in and disappeared, authorities said. Rosado also allegedly admitted giving Pabon alcohol and was arrested. Pabon's body was recovered from the Black River on Aug. 9. Rosado was charged with felony gross sexual imposition in 2021 for allegedly having sexual contact with a person under the age of 13. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted criminal child enticement. Pabon's family said that Pabon, who was 11 at the time, was the victim in that case. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com