SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) – A warning was issued Thursday night that a convicted sex offender with a longtime obsession with a female real estate agent is on the prowl again in Northeast Ohio.
Jana Chervenik, a longtime real estate agent, said one appointment she'll never forget was with Robert Willett, a Summit County man who insisted on seeing a vacant house in Akron.
Ms. Cherbenik said that two weeks earlier, she had received a text message containing a pornographic image from the same cell phone that Ms. Willett had used for the appointment.
“I felt this horrible, heavy, disgusting feeling, so when I got off the phone, I actually said, 'I'm afraid someone is trying to kill me.' Like, extreme. It seems like, I was thinking that in my head,” Cherbenik said.
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Based on that sentiment, Ms. Cherbenick asked police to follow her to the appointment and was surprised by what police discovered when they confronted Willett.
“I heard the police yelling, 'Hands up, hands up.'” And apparently he had his hands in his pockets, and sure enough, he had a box cutter in his pocket, duct tape, zip ties. It had something in it,” she said.
Chervenik says she often thinks about what would have happened if she hadn't followed her instincts.
Based on his behavior over the years, investigators concluded that Willett, now 67, who also uses the names Bill Parks and Tim Ramsey, had a dangerous obsession with real estate agents.
“He went to prison, got out, beat me again based on what happened to me and another agent, went back to prison, got out and beat me again,” she said.
Over the years, she heard from other agents who had come face-to-face with Willett.
“They said, 'Wow, I met that guy six years ago, I met that guy five years ago, and I felt so creeped out by him.' “I have to get out of here,'' Cherbenik said.
Willett will once again be attending open houses, according to a new safety alert issued to real estate agents across Northeast Ohio.
“Robert Willett is 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 270 pounds, and has a prosthetic right leg, so he's not hard to miss,” said Mike Valerino, CEO of the Akron-Cleveland Association of Realtors. he said.
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In a recent incident police are investigating, a man approached staff at a Sagamore Hills open house and began asking questions that staff found strange.
She called a friend, who called the police, and the “client” quickly fled.
Investigators have not actively linked Willett to the incident, but real estate agents say they are consistent with Willett's MO.
“I'm glad she noticed it and took action. I'm not surprised, that's exactly what he's doing,” Cervenich said.
In response to the incident, the Real Estate Agents Association is urging agents to always do their research on each person they plan to meet with, and urging all agents to follow the buddy system.
“Open houses shouldn't be held in isolation, especially at this time. You shouldn't be showing vacant properties at night,” Valerino said. “They should really pay attention to what's going on around them.”
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