'Friendly The Clown' Accused of Raping Mentally Impaired Woman He Was 'Praying' For
A 57-year-old veteran children's entertainer in Princeton, Minnesota, known as "Friendly the Clown," has been accused of raping a mentally impaired woman while telling her that "he was praying for a little girl like her to come around."
Robert J. Jensen was arrested and jailed on May 8 and faces three counts of third-degree criminal sexual assault and three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is currently being held at the Mille Lacs County jail on $100,000 bail, reported the Star Tribune.
In a criminal complaint, the 20-year-old woman, who had moved in with Jensen and his wife last year while recovering from a traumatic brain injury, described him as someone who was "nice to her and gives her rides to her community service job and medical appointments." She claims Jensen assaulted her at least three times.
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The first assault allagedly started with a hug on the night of Jan. 29 and the following morning the woman woke at around 5am to a naked Jensen and he began fondling her. She allegedly went to asleep after the assault and a few hours later Jensen returned at around 9am and assaulted her again.
In an interview with police, the woman said that during the Jan. 29 assault, Jensen told her "he was praying for a little girl like her to come around," the complaint charges.
The woman claims that she told Jensen's wife, Peggy Ann Jensen, about the assaults although he simply denied the allegations when confronted.
The woman eventually alerted a case worker at Mille Lacs County Community and Veteran Services about the assaults, who then reported the matter to the Princeton Police Department.
A police investigation reportedly found that a court-ordered DNA test matched semen found on the woman with a DNA swab taken from Jensen.
Jensen has worked as a freelance circus entertainer at children's parties for over 20 years and he goes by the stage names "Friendly the clown" and "Bob the Balloon Twister."
He is set to appear in court next week to answer to the charges.
