FORTVILLE — A Plainfield man faces sexual assault charges after a young girl told police he abused her at his home in Hancock County.
Prosecutors filed two felony counts this week against Timothy Bishop, 48, 328 N. Center St., Plainfield, after a girl told police he’d repeatedly harmed her when he helped care for her many years ago, according to court documents.
Bishop now faces one Class A felony count of child molesting and one Class C felony count of child molesting, court records show. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday and was being held in the Hancock County Jail at press time Tuesday on $50,000 cash bond, records show.
The girl told police Bishop was living in Fortville at the time he harmed her, court records state.
The girl said Bishop would come into her bedroom at night and touch her inappropriately, court documents state. On several occasions, the man forced her to touch him or forced her to engage in other sex acts, court documents state.
The girl told investigators these incidents happened repeatedly over several years, court documents state.
The girl told police Bishop would occasionally let another man take her away from her home when Bishop was caring for her, court records state. The girl told police that man, too, repeatedly sexually abused her, according to court documents.
The second suspect has not yet been charged criminally, but Hancock County prosecutors confirmed an investigation into the allegations against him is ongoing. They anticipate criminal charges will be filed against him in the coming days, Deputy Prosecutor Marie Castetter told the Daily Reporter this week.
The girl came forward earlier this month after attending a body safety class at her school, according to court documents. After listening to the presentation, she told school personnel hosting the course that Bishop and another man had abused her when she was younger and Bishop helped care for her, court documents state.
School personnel contacted the Fortville Police Department, which immediately began investigating the allegations. Police interviewed the girl, who repeated her story, documents state.
Police met Bishop near his Plainfield home last week and brought him to Fortville for an interview. Bishop repeatedly denied harming the girl, court documents state.
The Class A felony count Bishop faces carries a penalty of 20 to 50 years in prison; the Class C felony count he faces carries a penalty of two to eight years.