GREENFIELD — A man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl cut off his home-monitoring ankle bracelet and fled the area before police could arrest him, officials said.
Police began investigating Joshua Kemp, 31, of Greenfield, late last year after a girl told investigators Kemp forced himself on her after they’d done drugs together, court records state.
A warrant for Kemp’s arrest is pending in Hancock Circuit Court; but local police believe he might have fled the area just before the allegations came to light, records show.
Kemp faces two Level 4 felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. Each charges carries a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
The girl made her report to detectives with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana Department of Child Services in October.
The girl told police she met Kemp in 2016.
She said she and Kemp got high together while driving in Kemp’s car around Greenfield on two separate occasions. During both drives, Kemp pulled the car over and forced the girl to have sex with him, the girl told police, according to court documents.
The girl said Kemp knew she was underage, court documents state.
She told investigators she’d been afraid to come forward. She was worried Kemp might become violent when he heard she reported the abuse, court documents state.
Detectives have not spoken to Kemp about the girl’s allegations because they have not been able to locate the man, records show.
Kemp’s address is not listed in any court record; he had been living in Greenfield when the alleged incidents occurred, the girl told police.
Investigators said they believe he might have fled to Delaware around the time the girl made her report, according to court documents.
Kemp had been on house arrest in the months leading up to the girl’s report after being convicted last fall in an unrelated domestic violence case, court records show.
But in the days leading up to the girl’s interview with investigators, Kemp removed the GPS monitoring device he’d been required to wear on his ankle as part of a sentencing agreement, court documents state. Police have not been able to reach him since, officials said.
A warrant for Kemp’s arrest was issued in December. A judge has ordered the man be held in the Hancock County Jail without bond after his arrest until he’s appeared in court, records show.