Man Charged With Molesting Girl Disappears

DANVILLE, Ind. -- Authorities say they're looking for a man who agreed to plead guilty to molesting a 9-year-old relative but failed to appear at a court hearing.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Robert Keith Jeffries, 33, of Plainfield, after he didn't attend a Friday hearing in which he was scheduled to plead guilty to molestation, police said.

Jeffries was arrested in August 2004 after a family member found video of Jeffries molesting a female 9-year-old relative, police said. Police said the girl on the video was blindfolded and appeared to be drugged.

In a deal with the Hendricks County prosecutor, Jeffries agreed to plead guilty to seven of nine charges on Oct. 24, but he balked when he was told he'd be taken into custody, authorities said. Jeffries was then scheduled to plead guilty on Friday, but he didn't attend the plea hearing.

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Video: Warrant Issued For Man's Arrest

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Relatives of Jeffries have been distributing fliers, alerting the public to his fugitive status.

"Not only is he out there to where he could come back at any point in time and be around us, but he's out there with everyone else's children," said the girl's mother, who RTV6 didn't identify.

Jeffries is known to frequent the Fountain Square area on Indianapolis' southeast side, RTV6's Jack Rinehart reported.