FORTVILLE – Police are seeking the public’s help to locate a man they believe sexual assaulted a girl this week.
Samual Cravens, 38, of Fortville, is wanted amid allegations he forced a teen girl to have sex with him, according to police reports.
The girl came forward early Thursday after the assault reportedly took place, according to court documents. Investigators say they spoke with Cravens briefly Thursday afternoon, asking him to come to the Fortville Police Department for an interview with detectives.
Cravens refused, and he has not been seen locally since, officials said.
Friday, prosecutors filed criminal charges against Cravens, and a warrant is now active for his arrest. He faces two Level 1 felony counts of child molest and one Level 4 felony count of child molest, records show.
Investigators are circulating a photograph of Cravens, hoping residents might help track the man down.
He is described as a white male, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing approximately 160 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes, police said.
Cravens was last seen in Maxwell, where he was working. He was wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans at that time, police said.
Police believe Cravens has family in the Muncie area. He also has strong ties to Montana and Oklahoma and could be headed west, officials say.
Officers accompanied the girl to a sexual assault treatment center in Madison County Thursday morning to be examined by a nurse there. She and her relatives were interviewed by police, and detectives visited the girl’s home to collect various evidence, including some of Cravens’ clothing, court documents state.
Police tried to call Cravens’ cellphone to ask him to come to the Fortville Police Department for an interview. He answered, but said he was working in Maxwell and could not leave to speak with them, court documents state.
When officers visited his workplace a short while later, they were told Cravens had “abruptly left the job site” and was last seen walking toward a line of trees nearby, court documents state.
A warrant for Cravens’ arrest was pending at press time. Once he is booked into the Hancock County Jail, he will be held there on a $25,000 cash bond, according to prosecutors.
The Level 1 felony counts he faces each carry a maximum penalty of 40 years. The Level 4 felony count he faces carries a maximum penalty of 12 years.
Anyone with information regarding the man’s whereabouts is asked to call the Hancock County Emergency Operations Center at 317-477-1144.
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Samual Cravens, 38, of Fortville is wanted amid allegations of child molest, officials say.
A teen girl told police the man sexually assaulted her earlier this week at her home, according to court documents. Investigators believe Cravens has fled the area, and they are looking for the public’s help to locate him.
He is described as a white male, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing approximately 160 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes, police said.
Cravens was last seen in Maxwell wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans, police said.
Anyone with information about Cravens’ whereabouts is asked to call the Hancock County Emergency Operations Center at 317-477-1144.
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