Summit County prosecutor finds Barberton man not involved in incident with female Realtor

A man who some area Realtors thought was again targeting female real estate agents was not involved in a recent incident, according to the Summit County Prosecutor's Office.

The office investigated reports of a man, possibly a registered sex offender from Barberton, approaching a female Realtor at a recent open house. Investigators found that the individual was not the Barberton man, who has been jailed in the past for crimes committed against area female real estate agents.

“My office investigated a recent report of a man approaching real estate agents. While the investigation showed it was not the individual originally named, this interaction is a reminder that real estate agents must be vigilant in their safety," Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich said in a statement.

A Facebook post from Monday alleged a man fitting the Barberton offender's description had recently visited an open house in Sagamore Hills and warned other Realtors to take caution.

"He was asking the agent how long she'd been there. She called her friend immediately who called the police," the post read.

Earlier this week, Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors CEO Mike Valerino said real estate agents can do a number of things to protect themselves from predators when it comes to open houses, such as always following a client into a room so they remain in front of the Realtor and notifying other agents when they're holding open houses. He also said to make it clear to clients that the property is monitored by security cameras and to meet potential clients in a public space or at the office for the first time.

"We offer self-defense classes to our agents but we hope they never have to use these skills to defend themselves," Valerino said. "We listen to our members and we take their concerns seriously and do everything we can to alert our members to potential dangers ... ."

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County prosecutor finds Barberton man not involved in incident with female Realtor