INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man facing weapons and ammunitions charges in California after telling officers he was headed to a gay pride event was charged Wednesday in Indiana with child molestation — allegations that apparently spurred his cross-country journey to Los Angeles, a prosecutor said.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man facing weapons and ammunitions charges in California after telling officers he was headed to a gay pride event was charged Wednesday in Indiana with child molestation — allegations that apparently spurred his cross-country journey to Los Angeles, a prosecutor said.
James Wesley Howell, 20, faces one count of child molesting in southern Indiana’s Clark County. If convicted, the Jeffersonville, Indiana, man could face up to 16 years in prison.
Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull told The Associated Press that Howell took a 12-year-old girl to a state forestry property May 31 and had sex with her. Mull said Howell met the girl through an adult friend.
The girl’s mother reported the allegations to police June 2 after learning about them.
A message seeking comment was left Wednesday for Howell family lawyer Bobby Boyd of Louisville, Kentucky. Telephone calls to Pamela Jones, Howell’s public defender in the California weapons case, rang unanswered. Mull said Howell was interviewed on June 7 by a police detective in the molestation case and apparently left Indiana at some point after speaking to the officer.