Jesse Hartman pleads guilty to Piqua home break-in, child rape in Miami County court

A man who broke into a Piqua house in June and sexually assaulted a 3-year-old child pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of felony rape and one count of felony aggravated burglary.

Jesse D. Hartman, 34, of Piqua, made the plea as part of an agreement in which a third felony rape count was dismissed in Miami County Common Pleas Court.

He faces a sentence of life in prison without parole or life in prison with parole eligibility after 15 years. Sentencing will be Nov. 17 before Judge Jeannine Pratt.

Hartman was arrested by Piqua police following an investigation into a woman’s report early June 16 that she found a stranger in an upstairs bedroom of her home sexually assaulting a child. The woman said she grabbed and hit the man and chased him from the house and down the street.

A trial in the case against Hartman was scheduled to begin Oct. 24. He remains in the county jail in lieu of $1 million bail.