Retired Porter County Detective Roger Bowles Facing Child Pornography Charge

A former detective with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department was booked into Porter County Jail Saturday on a felony charge of possessing child pornography and a misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.

A 16-year veteran of the department, Roger Bowles, 56, of Hebron, retired May 31, said Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds. He had been on paid leave since an investigation into the allegations began by Indiana State Police in February at the request of the sheriff’s department. He worked as a jailer before being hired as a sheriff’s officer, Reynolds said.

According to court documents, one of Bowles’ co-workers told investigators a 17-year-old girl he knew had been in a sexual relationship with Bowles.

The girl told police she met Bowles while both worked at the 2015 Porter County Fair. The two exchanged cellphone numbers at the 2016 fair and began communicating through text messages, according to the documents.

The teen told detectives the two began a consensual sexual relationship, documents said. According to the court filing, “Indiana law does not prohibit this sexual activity because Juvenile’s age was 16 or older,” the document states.

The investigation revealed that Bowles allegedly had nude photographs of the teen on his phone, including one taken on or about Dec. 8, and the teen reportedly confirmed later that Bowles had taken the picture, court documents said.

The teen told the detective that Bowles reportedly provided her alcoholic beverages on more than one occasion, which she consumed, court documents said.

According to court documents, the investigating detective confirmed the information by finding texts from her to Bowles about her drinking. She was 17 at the time.

“The investigation also shows that both Bowles and juvenile participated in their relationship in secret, without the knowledge of juvenile’s parents or the knowledge of defendant’s professional acquaintances,” the document states.

During an interview, Bowles reportedly confirmed for the investigating detective that he knew the girl but declined to answer further questions until he spoke with an attorney, court documents said.

Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel appointed special prosecutor David Thomas to handle the case in May to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Suburban Chicago arrest photos
An initial hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 16 before Porter Superior Court Judge William Alexa. Online court records do not list an attorney for Bowles. He posted a $1,200 bond.

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com