By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman on Thursday denied bond modifications requested by a Bowling Green man charged with sexual offenses against a juvenile family member over a six-year period. And at the request of the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Brian Boos, the judge also imposed an order that the defendant have no unsupervised contact with any minors.
Last week, Matthew Rava’s attorney, Ty Mahaffey asked the judge to change the exclusion zone from the family home to one mile rather than the two-mile radius stated in the bond provisions. According to the attorney, Rava’s HVAC shop and a client of his business are located within the two-mile radius.
Kuhlman said last week that he wanted to give the victim an opportunity to attend a hearing about that request before ruling on it. That hearing was held Thursday (Aug. 27) afternoon.
Boos told the judge that the 14-year-old victim and her mother were not opposed to the shrinking of the exclusion zone where Rava would not be allowed.
Kuhlman remarked that it is very odd that the custodial parent would not object to allowing the defendant to come closer to their home, where the victim lives.
“This seems like a case where the victim might have an objection,” the judge said.
Kuhlman asked who reported the alleged offenses to authorities. A Bowling Green Police Division report stated the victim accompanied by others, not her mother, reported the alleged sexual offenses.
Boos said the fact that the parent didn’t report the alleged offenses “has separate ramifications.”
The judge said the lack of objection by the custodial parent was baffling. “This is an abnormal case,” Kuhlman said, adding that he had never encountered a case where the custodial parent hadn’t advocated for more restrictions.
“It’s causing concerns, honestly,” the judge said. “I just don’t feel comfortable” granting the request, he added.
“I don’t really know what’s going on here,” he said. “It seems bizarre the victim isn’t opposed.”
Kuhlman also cited a lack of information that he would need in order to consider such a request. The only address made available to him was the victim’s – not the accused’s HVAC shop or that of his client.
Mahaffey noted that Rava is the sole provider for his family, which includes six children. He said Rava’s lack of access to his shop has been a “huge hindrance to him.”
“We’re just trying to keep life as normal as possible,” Mahaffey said, while adding the understanding that Rava is facing “very serious allegations.”
Kuhlman said he would allow Rava to go into the “exclusion zone” once, at a set time, to retrieve the materials and equipment from his shop, then leave.
Rava was arrested in mid-July after being indicted by a Wood County Grand Jury for nine counts of sexual offenses against a juvenile family member during a six-year period. He was initially lodged in Wood County Jail, but was released on $50,000 bond.
During the investigation of the allegations against Rava, prior to the bond terms being set, the Bowling Green Police Division noted disregard for arrangements set up to ensure Rava maintained distance from his alleged victim. The police report stated Matthew Rava’s wife, Jordan, was reportedly aware of the abuse and helped her husband sneak into the house after being told he was not allowed in the home.
According to the police report, Wood County Job and Family Services reportedly advised Jordan Rava of a safety plan put in place in which Matthew Rava should not be at the family residence when the alleged victim was there. Text messages between the husband and wife, prior to his arrest, reportedly show an exchange in which Jordan Rava tells her husband to come to the back of the house so she could sneak him in a back window of the home so they could be together.
Text messages between the couple also reportedly included several comments from Jordan Rava that the child had told her that Matthew Rava was touching her inappropriately.
Matthew Rava was indicted on the following charges:
- Three counts of sexual battery, a fourth degree felony, from May 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, caused a juvenile to engage in sexual activity with him.
- Fourth count of sexual battery, on or about Feb. 7-9, 2026, engaged in sexual activity with a juvenile.
- Fifth count of sexual battery, on or about March 1-31, 2026, engaged in sexual activity with a juvenile.
- One count of grooming, a fifth degree felony, from May 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, engaged in a pattern of conduct with a minor younger than 13 years old, “when the pattern of conduct would cause a reasonable adult person to believe that he was communicating with the victim with purpose to entice, coerce, or solicit the victim to engage in sexual activity, and when his purpose in engaging in the pattern of conduct was to entice, coerce, or solicit the victim to engage in sexual activity with him.”
- One count of rape, a first degree felony, on or about Aug. 1, 2020, through July 17, 2021, engaged in sexual conduct with juvenile who was 8 years old.
- Second count of rape, on or about July 18, 2021, through July 17, 2022, engaged in sexual conduct with juvenile who was 9 years old.
- Third count of rape, on or about July 18, 2022, through June 9, 2023, engaged in sexual conduct with juvenile who was 10 years old.
The investigation into Rava’s charges was a collaborative effort by the Bowling Green Police Division and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, since some of the alleged incidents occurred in the city and some outside in the city limits, Boos said.
