Neighbor charged 40 years later in child molestation allegations
An anonymous tip and a reported confession lead to an arrest, charges against a Lafayette man in molestation case dating to 1985
An anonymous tip sent to Lafayette police in November, detailing molestation nearly four decades earlier, last week led to the arrest and charges against a 61-year-old Lafayette man.
Scott Wheeler, who until last week worked at Purdue’s Hall of Music Productions, was being held in the Tippecanoe County Jail this week, after his arrest Friday on three felony counts of child molesting and another for vicarious sexual gratification stemming from a series of encounters in 1985, when he was 21, with an 11-year-old.
According to a probable cause affidavit unsealed late last week, investigators say Wheeler admitted to molesting the boy, who was a neighbor, several times between the spring and fall of 1985.
“I’d just say that a 40-year-old accusation is out of the ordinary,” Capt. Joe Clyde, Lafayette Police Department’s detective division commander, said Tuesday. “Maybe not the accusation, but a tip from something that is 40 years old that we can follow up on and develop a case to the point where we have enough to get a warrant for arrest, that is atypical, that is that doesn't happen a lot. A lot of things have to kind of fall into place.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Wheeler was still listed on the Tippecanoe County Jail’s roster. Magistrate Sarah Wyatt on Monday set a $50,000 bond for Wheeler and granted a no contact order in the case, according to court records.
Wheeler’s initial date for a jury trial is June 24, according to court records.
Clyde said the tip to police four months ago had enough details that detectives could start piecing together names, locations and a timeline.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the charges, detectives said the victim reported that Wheeler had befriended his parents. Police say they interviewed Wheeler in late-January, where he admitted to spending time and giving gifts to the boy, starting when he was 11. Police say Wheeler, who was 21 and living with his parents at the time, admitted that over several months, he fondled and masturbated in front of the boy, having oral sex with him on multiple occasions. The court documents say he also attempted anal sex with the victim. The court documents say the victim told police that Wheeler knew how old he was because Wheeler had attended his 12th birthday party that summer.
Clyde said the investigation remained open in the case.
According to Indiana law, prosecutors can initiate a case in sexual offenses against children, including child molestation, until the victim’s 31st birthday. But the statute of limitations resets in certain cases, including when there is a reported confession.
Wheeler was listed in Purdue’s staff directory as scheduling and logistics manager for Hall of Music Productions, an in-house production company that does sound, lighting and other stage work on- and off-campus.
“Upon learning on Friday, March 7, of Wheeler’s arrest, as well as reading the probable cause affidavit that described his admission to certain off-campus conduct that occurred years before his employment at Purdue, the university moved to immediately terminate his employment,” Trevor Peters, a Purdue spokesman, said Tuesday.
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