A man living in Owensville is jailed without bond on a probation violation, accused of leaving sexually suggestive notes on people’s windshield, urging them to call him for sex acts for a fee.

Owensville police capped off a month-long investigation and received a one-count class E felony warrant charging Paul R. Curtis, 60, with third-degree promoting prostitution. He was arrested June 1. A $35,000 cash or surety bond was set on the Gasconade County warrant.

Owensville City Marshal Robert Rickerd’s probable cause statement submitted as the request for the warrant alleges Curtis on May 26 placed a handwritten note on a vehicle “offering sexual acts in exchange for a monetary fee (to be discussed at the meeting between the recipient and the individual leaving the note).” The court document filed June 1 added, “The note states ‘Attention sex for hire for a small fee.’”

The note the recipient received, “gives specific details on how to contact” Curtis at a local restaurant and bar “with specific details of sexual activity that he is willing to do with the person receiving this letter.”

The recipient of the letter was not identified in the police report filed with court.  

And the May 26 incident was not his first such alleged solicitation. Rickerd noted in his release issued Monday that Curtis has apparently been leaving similar notes on windshields of vehicle across several blocks of East Peters over the prior month. The Republican was told by one downtown businessman a similar letter was found in a men’s bathroom at another restaurant across town.

Rickerd’s release noted police have been investigating Curtis “over the past month.” 

The report alleges Curtis, who was residing at 103 East Peters in an upstairs apartment, “ has been leaving, at different locations throughout Owensville, multiple handwritten notes of sexual nature promoting specific acts in exchange for monetary fees.”

Rickerd’s release on the arrest stated these notes — provided to police from people who were subjected to the class E felony being alleged — were compared with a known court record Curtis signed in person. The PC statement noted a forensic handwriting analysis was conducted comparing the samples of notes found on local vehicles with two original Probation and Parole documents Curtis had filled out within the past year.

The Missouri Department of Correction’s Board of Probation and Parole issued their own warrant the day after Curtis was taken into custody on the Owensville charge. As of Monday’s release, Curtis remains in the Osage County Jail without bond on the P&P retainer warrant issued on an alleged probation violation.

The new felony charge was cited as the  violation under “new offense” and “laws.”  

Prior offenses cited for the court-ordered probationary period included a second-degree burglary conviction from Callaway County with probation running through Oct. 25, 2025, and a Crawford case of a felony controlled substance possession conviction with probation until Feb. 28, 2027.

According to Rickerd, Curtis was taken into custody at this place of employment at a factory in Gerald by Gerald police on the late afternoon hours of June 1. Rickerd noted that after multiple conversations between himself and Curtis’ Probation and Parole officer over several days, that agency issued their no-bond warrant on Thursday.

In the letters he is alleged to have left on windshields of vehicles parked in front of several businesses, Curtis identifies himself as a bi-sexual man.

Rickerd thanked the Gasconade County Sheriffs Department, Gerald Police Department and the Gasconade County Prosecutor for their assistance in this case.

“This was a joint effort within the Owensville Police Department. Officer Brenn Finley, Officer Amanda Jensen and Detective Robert Green came in on days off and assisted (me) with wrapping up the investigation so it could be sent to the Prosecutor as quickly as possible,” Rickerd stated in his release. 

Curtis was advised of his rights during a court appearance Friday which included a formal arraignment. He asked for a public defender and is scheduled to return to Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Krueger’s Hermann court at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 15, for a status hearing on the request for a public defender.