City-County Councilor Cleared of Groping Allegations

A Fishers police investigation has cleared Indianapolis City-County Councilor Nick Roberts of allegations that he groped an 18-year-old woman during a date. The woman, who met Roberts through the dating app Hinge, accused him of kissing her and grabbing her during a walk along the Nickel Plate Trail on July 12.

The woman told investigators that she and Roberts went for a walk together when he led her onto a side trail, kissed her, and groped her. She said she tried to push him away but he didn't let go until someone walked by on the main trail. The woman ended the date after the incident.

Roberts denied any unwanted physical contact with the woman in a video statement on his Facebook page. "During the kiss, she did not push me away or ask me to stop. If she had done either, I would have stopped immediately," he said.

The Fishers police investigation found that while there was some surveillance footage of Roberts and the woman on the trail, it didn't show any visible signs of distress, such as disheveled clothing. There were also no references to any unwanted touching in their text messages.

Detectives wrote: "Although it is difficult to ascertain what may have happened off camera view, what is captured on camera view shows two individuals walking together in normal walking behavior. There was no video of them kissing and there is no video or witnesses to the alleged incident."

The investigation concluded that there wasn't enough evidence for probable cause that a crime had occurred.