mark: the democratic presidential candidates taking the stage one more time before next week' s iowa caucus. how they answered questions from the voters themselves. lisa: cincinnati' s mayor and police chief teaming up to put safety first in the queen city. mark: and six more young victims in a local sex crimes case. how investigators say this man gained the trust of kids as young as 4 years old. [captioning made possible by wlwt-tv] >> from cincinnati' s wlwt,

this is wlwt news 5 today. mark: good morning, everyone. thanks for joining us. i' m mark hayes. lisa: i' m lisa cooney. more headlines are straight ahead. good morning to you. the dial in the car said 50. randi: it was 15 degrees. -- 50 degrees. randi: we' re in the hot the day. upper 40' s to around 50. gone. 30' s this afternoon. ok? we were in the 50' s early. temperatures are dropping. we take a look at the radar. south of 71, 75, through

light rain over toward sparta. along 68 in brown county and georgetown, light showers. everybody should be done by the rain about 7:00 this morning. officially 50 at midnight. 48 degrees for cvg right now. the planner for today, temperatures tumble. noon, cloudy, breezy, 35. it will feel like the upper 20' s. big changes into the next 12 hours. guys? mark: more young victims identified by police in a disturbing sex crimes case. lisa: a local babysitter is already accused of molesting a 4-year-old. wlwt news 5' s tammy mutasa reports from dearborn county,

tammy: prosecutors say steven rokowski was a babysitter for some of the victims. he earned their parent' s trust, then preyed on the children. tonight i spoke with the mother of one of the victims. she was too devastated to talk to us on camera. but she says she never wants this to happen anyone' s child again. >> there' s seven kids here who' ve been victimized in the worst way you can imagine as a parent. tammy: prosecutors say the crimes are horrific. but adding to the outrage, steven rekowski' s accused of videotaping attacks on innocent girls between 4 and 10 years old while they slept. >> beyond disturbing. tammy: in some cases, investigators say he made a young victim watch while he molested another. >> i think we' ve only touched the tip of the iceberg as far as the mountain of evidence we' ve already seen. tammy: rekowski is already in jail, accused of taking sexual abuse images on his cell phone. that girl in the images is 4 years old.

children have been victimized. >> all these parents were unsuspecting. tammy: prosecutors say at one point he drugged a 10-year-old and recorded an attack. detectives say they found muscle relaxers in rekowski' s house. >> it' s pretty clear from the video itself that there' s a kid --there is more than just a kid who' s falling asleep. tammy: a lawrenceburg mom set off this investigation on new year' s day, saying a friend found pictures of her daughter on rekowski' s phone. the mom then locked rekowski in the laundry room until investigators put him behind bars. >> those actions of those two women were instrumental in bringing this guy to justice. tammy: investigators are not even done going through the forensic analysis on his cellphone. they also found laptops and computers which are still being analyzed. lisa: rekowski is expected to face a judge this morning. he' s been convicted of public indecency, but prosecutors say he wasn'

as a sex offender. new insight on human trafficking in ohio. the state' s top cop is out with a report detailing law enforcement efforts to combat the problem. across the state there were more than 100 investigations last year and even more arrests. of the more than 200 potential victims, the most common age group targeted were 16- and 17-year-olds girls. drugs and alcohol addiction were two of the biggest risk factors. the number of human trafficking investigations in ohio were at an all-time high. mark: disturbing news out of afghanistan this morning, where a police officer turned his weapon on fellow officers, killing 10 of them. it happened at a checkpoint in the southern part of the country. the taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. investigators say the shooter killed the officers while they were sleeping and then fled the scene after stealing their weapons and ammunition. new details this morning on a crash that shut down ronald reagan highway. aircare was called to the scene for the woman behind the wheel.

eastbound lanes near galbraith road. we are still working to learn her condition. police believe alcohol was a factor in this crash. all lanes are back open this morning. the mayor of cincinnati and new chief of police came together last night to talk crime. wlwt news 5' s miriah turner is at the live alert desk with more on how the concerned people went to the evanston meeting wanting their streets back. miriah: citizens focused on targeting drug dealers and users, plus engaging our youth to take them out of this violent environment. more than 100 people packed the community room at the evanston center on woodburn avenue. citizens came from all over district two, walnut hills, mount washington, and madisonville. many were concerned with the rampant use of semi-automatic guns and gun violence. they say if the city can develop more businesses and opportunities for young people to get jobs, it will cut down on crime. the mayor and chief isaac said while some citizens are involved, others are afraid to speak up.

issue of people not wanting to come forward. they fear for their lives, but that we often know who the killers are, but we can' t make the case, so we' ve got to bring illegal gun cases and find other ways to get people that we know are causing the shootings off the streets. miriah: last night' s meeting was the second of five at all five police districts. next week it' s district three at the westwood town hall. from the live alert desk, i' m miriah turner. lisa: a call to end gun violence in winton terrace after a man was shot in his home this weekend. the group cease-fire held a prayer vigil last night. faith leaders say they go out into the community to show kids and teenagers there' s more to life than violence. they say they didn' t have it easy either, but they got help. >> we were able to overcome because we had people like ourselves, coming to them, telling them, look, that ain' t the way you want to go. you know, two things are going to happen. you going to go to prison or you' re going to get killed. and that' s not what we want for you. we want to see our young kids grow up.

lisa: cease-fire says it wants to pray with kids and show them other options, like sports at local rec centers. mark: the democratic presidential candidates all appeared on the same stage last night at iowa' s drake university for a town-hall-style event. hillary clinton, bernie sanders, and martin o' malley appeared separately, and were questioned by a moderator and audience members. all three have been zig-zagging the state in recent days, trying to drum up support before the february 1st caucuses. democratic candidate hillary clinton is getting support from her husband here in cincinnati. former president bill clinton will host a fundraiser for her next month. the fundraiser is set for february 12th downtown. it will run from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30. the campaign has not announced a specific venue for the event. lisa: on the other side of the aisle, one of the most popular newspapers in massachusetts, "the boston globe," has announced its support for ohio governor john kasich for president. the paper has a large audience in southern new hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary

s rival, "the boston herald," has thrown its support behind new jersey governor chris christie. the new hampshire primary will be held on february 9th. mark: let' s get another check on the forecast. randi: temperatures are going to tumble about 15 degrees into this afternoon. to not plan on it being as mild as it is right now all day. rain showers finishing up over the next two hours or so. all this is pretty light except south of the split at 71. right now 48-50 degrees across much of the area. we will be closer to 40 as we are out at the bus stop this morning. temperatures on the milder side

i think it will feel like the upper 20' s for the second half of the day. temperatures are about to take a dip. we are talking highs back into the mid-upper 50' s. ' kyla: do not tease me. we are seeing pretty clear conditions to get us started. this is 71 at red bank. hopping into warren county, no problems. 71, 75 looks good at dixie highway. looks like some flashing lights on the southbound side but it is off to the shoulder. forest park or butler county, here is a look at 747. things are great here and not

hopefully we will keep things this smooth. lisa: thank you. recognition for a self-less basketball standout. mark: ahead in sports, a better-than-expected season just north of here, and the player who' s earned the title prime-time performer. lisa: outside live on your tuesday. 4:40.

stay with mark: good morning and welcome back. nice and clear, but temperatures are changing. lisa: a victory for the answers in genesis ark encounter exhibit in kentucky. mark: miriah turner has the details and other stories trending this morning. she keeps an eye on that social media for you. miriah: the group behind the ark encounter in grant county has now won a legal battle over tax incentives. answers in genesis will open the country' s largest timber-frame structure in july. a federal judge has now ruled state officials violated the ark builders' first amendment protections. kentucky had blocked a sales tax tourism incentive which could have been worth $18 million. and ben & jerry' s co-founder ben cohen spent some time over the weekend bringing the campaign and confections a bit closer together. introducing bernie' s yearning.

with a giant chocolate chip that represents all the wealth that' s gone to the top 1% of the population over the past 10 years. the treat comes with directions, telling consumers to crack the chocolate disk with a spoon, then mix. only 40 pints are available. 25 pints will be given away in a contest run by sanders' campaign that launched yesterday and ends at noon on february 3. and as if valentine' s day being just a few weeks away isnt stressful enough for many, did you forget today is spouse' s day, a day to enjoy and appreciate your better half. it' s also a good reminder to show that special person in your life just how much you care and appreciate him or her. you can show your love in simple ways. be creative or just smile and say "i love you." this is all according to cutecalendar.com, spouse' s day is celebrated worldwide. lisa: i never heard about that. hallmark day. valentine'

lisa: it is worldwide. mark: it is designed for you to pull out the plastic in your wallet. lisa: thank you, mariah. randi: it will not be as warm. we have some big old changes through the next 12 hours or so. today is all about the falling temperatures. 50 degrees at midnight. we are going to see a quick s on tap for the weekend. we take a look at the radar. we do have rain showers south of the 71, 75 split toward owenton, mt. olivet. they will not be around after 7:00 this morning. the temperatures will tumble.

a big test on the road today for the xavier musketeers. lisa: wlwt news 5' s george vogel tells us where the team is headed today. george: xavier has taken off for providence and they get a big test on the road. it will be two top-10 teams going at it. providence took down the lenola on sunday in overtime -- took down the villanova. 31 points against the wildcats. the latest a.p. poll shows oklahoma on top. louisville is now 16th. kentucky is number 20. ohio against penn state. state.

buckeyes snap a short two-game skid. preseason foot wall tickets priced lower than regular season tickets. there has been a scam for years. now there is a two-tier model. the bengal say they are following a trend other nfl teams practice. the total package costs less because there is one less home game, with the bengals scheduled to play a game in london. our latest primetime performer of the week from monroe. noah has been delivering big performances all season long.

selfless he is as a player, always carrying about his teammates. it is consistent to what he is done all season long. >> it basically, he brings the same effort and energy and intensity in games and practice. >> he grabbed over 28,000 votes on our online poll. >> the support was huge. my mom was calling people and my teammates. everybody in the community was helping me out. >> i am presenting noah the primetime performer of the week award. congratulations. george: there are having fun up there.

he can score point and he knows how to score votes as well. that is all the sports for now. we will have more coming up later in the day. mark: taking a live look outside. we season wind this morning -- we see some wind this morning. we are not going to be able to keep these temperatures. may is coming. randi: you can have gone running at midnight. mark: i missed it. lisa: that was my window. randi: nothing worse than setting an alarm earlier than 2:00 a.m. we are right here in the warm spot. s. temperatures will tumble over

indy is down to 35. the cold front coming through right now with these rain showers. it is all pretty light. the closest rain is south of 71, 75. this is our steadiest batch of rain over toward sparta and owenton. a light batch of showers to the east of 68 and moving into the southern portions of highland county and belfast. the wind, 13 miles per hour. it is still warm outside. it is mild right now. temperatures are going to be tumbling. many towns in the upper 30' s. 35 at noon. and then temperatures steady

it will feel like the upper 20' s and maybe a flurry into the evening hours. watching the back edge push east out of our area. small chance for a quick passing flurry into the overnight hours. partly cloudy tomorrow and continued cool air. today we will end up in the 30' s. temperatures are falling. tonight 29 degrees. the clouds will clear and it will get cold. thursday, 44 and maybe a chance for a flurry thursday night into friday. high temperatures this weekend back into the 50' s. lisa: thank you.

water. five people have tested positive for elevated levels of lead in the water. it will provide up to for water $25,000 filtration. mark: the winter games for the special olympics of kentucky is underway at perfect north slopes. 100 athletes are competing at various ages and abilities, and each athlete is paired with a ski partner. organizers say the winter games help athletes in all aspects of their lives. >> our athletes that participate consistently in special olympics excel in other areas of their life, their schools, they become good employees at work. just really good contributing members of their communities. mark: the competition wraps up today with the finals. but several athletes at the ongoing winter games are competing to qualify for the world special olympics winter games in 2017 in austria. lisa: new funding aimed at

s tax credit authority has approved more than $49 million in funding for projects statewide. the goal is to create 1200 new jobs and to retain 1500 other jobs. in west chester, a five-year tax credit was approved for planes moving and storage. 30 new jobs will be created there. in downtown cincinnati, a tax credit was approved for the reztark design studio to create 16 new jobs and to help the studio expand. happening today, the fifth annual queen city annual blood drive. the event is hosted by the hoxworth and will take place at the duke energy convention center starting at 10:00 this morning. the cincinnati cyclones hockey team will be there to draw out loyal fans to a good cause. the event usually takes place at u.s. bank arena, but due to the popularity of the event, hoxworth decided to move it to the convention center this year. donors receive an assortment of prizes at the drive. >> cincinnati' s certified most

randi: good morning. whatever time you woke up, you miss the warmest hours of the day. 8:00 a.m., 40 degrees. low and mid 30' s into the afternoon. it will feel like the 20' s. people that are dressed for upper 40' s, it will be much colder than that. here is the cold front rolling through. those are gone but the clouds and the breeze remain through the day. there could be a straggler flurry after 8:00 tonight. tomorrow is high about 36. back into the 40' s on thursday. saturday and sunday,

things are looking good once we get through this temperature tumble. kyla: you can look for to some pretty clear roadways. you can see 17 minutes on 74. across the river, 19 minutes. 16 minutes out of butler county on 75 southbound. 75 at sharon, a pretty even spread north and southbound. we' ll check again at the top of the hour. mark: a troubling statistic about children in the state of ohio. lisa: how state officials are looking to curb the growing trend. mark: taking a live look outside

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lisa: scary statistics prompting changes in the state of ohio. why a new initiative is looking to make mental health consultants available to children. mark: president obama looking to put stricter rules on solitary confinement. which inmates he' s looking to save from the punishment. lisa: new details on the funeral arrangements for a loveland teen killed in a milford crash

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