Sexual Predator Roy Clifford Bebout Arrested, After Victim Escapes Kidnapping Attempt

Roy Clifford Bebout, a man from Mount Vernon, Indiana, is behind bars after his alleged victim escaped a kidnapping attempt before reporting him to local authorities. The 46-year-old was picked up and booked just before 4 a.m. on Saturday, at the Vanderburgh County Jail. His is currently being detained with no bond.

According to the Indy Star, Bebout is facing a slew of felony charges — battery by strangulation, battery with a deadly weapon, criminal confinement while armed, and kidnapping while armed. The suspect does have a criminal history of sexual violence, and is currently on the Posey County sex offender registry as a “violent sexual predator.”

At the time of the altercation, Bebout was out on probation after being sentenced to 45 years for a kidnapping and rape case back in 1998. According to Vanderburgh County circuit court records, Bebout was convicted by Judge David D. Kiely of kidnapping, criminal deviate conduct, and rape.

According to the police report, a young female approached a METS bus driver screaming “he’s trying to kill me!” on Friday afternoon. When police arrived at the scene, the young girl explained that she was walking to work when a man jumped out of a Dodge pickup truck and threatened her with a gun in his hand.

Not willing to go with him without putting up a fight, the report reveals that a struggle ensued between the young woman and her attacker. According to the young victim, the suspect strangled her before handcuffing her. Bebout also attempted to stuff a yellow ball in her mouth to gag her.

While struggling with her attacker, she managed to gain access to pepper spray that she had carried with her — using it to deter her assailant. After spraying him, she made her escape and headed straight for the METS bus.

The bus driver told the police that he had witnessed the alleged attacker hop into a red pickup truck and drive away shortly after the girl approached him.

When officers searched the area for potential evidence or clues, they discovered a cellphone — which they later learned belonged to the suspect. The police called a contact listed as “mom” and were able to confirm that the phone belonged to Bebout after speaking with his mother. She also confirmed that he did drive a red pickup truck, and that he was currently living with her.

During an interview, the female victim was able to pick Bebout out of a photo line-up. She told authorities that she was 90 percent sure that Bebout was the man who had attacked her as she pulled his photo from a line-up of six other men.

Police tracked the suspect down in Princeton, Indiana, later that same night.