Evansville police say she was near the IGA store when Bebout approached her with a gun and put her in handcuffs. She used pepper spray and was able to get away.

Police say they were able to track down Bebout because he left his phone at the scene. This case is a close reflection to one from 1998 when a Vanderburgh County teen says she was Bebout’s victim.

“I remember the case well,” says Stan Levco, former Vanderburgh County prosecutor. “It was really, he had abducted a young lady here and had taken her to Posey County and it was really, all rapes are aggravated, but this one was particularly so. It was at gunpoint and was a pretty brutal case.”

Former Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco presided over the case against Bebout 20 years ago. A jury found him guilty of kidnapping and criminal deviate conduct.

“I remember capturing him was interesting in that the victim had given a composite drawing of him that was so accurate that one of the police officers from one of the counties recognized him even though I don’t think he had a prior record,” says Levco.

Bebout was sentenced to 45 years in prison. According to the Indiana Department of Corrections, he served 18 and half years and was released in September of 2016. Bebout was still on probation for another case out of Marion County when authorities arrested him in Gibson County Friday.

“This is an individual that is offense was three hours North of here that put him in prison, he gets out, they send him back down to Southwest Indiana, he doesn’t even live in Evansville, but this is where he chooses to find a victim,” says Sgt. Jason Cullum, Evansville Police Department. “So it’s very frustrating and we understand that.”

“He may not have served all of his sentence, which then would be 50 percent but today it would be 75 percent,” says Levco. “Under the new law, if he would’ve been convicted and given this amount of time, he would’ve had 33 years instead of 22 and a half. So he would still be in jail.”

Bebout is being held in the Vanderburgh County Jail without bond. His six felony charges include attempted rape, kidnapping, strangulation, and criminal confinement. An initial hearing date has not been set yet.

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