Shouse
A jury trial has been set for a Seymour man accused of child molestation in 2022.
Chad Aaron Shouse, 42, faces charges of child molesting with a child under 14, a Level 4 felony, and obstruction of justice, a Level 5 felony.
Shouse posted his original $750 bond on Nov. 11, 2022. Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter scheduled a pretrial conference for Shouse on April 24, and a warrant for his arrest was issued May 1.
Shouse was booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown at 2:29 p.m. Thursday, and his jury trial is set for July 11.
On May 22, 2022, Seymour police took a report from a mother who said her 9-year-old child had been molested in the area of South Broadway Street in Seymour, according to a news release from Lt. C.J. Foster at that time.
Detectives with the department along with investigators from the Jackson County office of the Indiana Department of Child Services then collected evidence and information related to the case.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed June 6, 2022, by Seymour Police Department Officer Bernard Petro, the victim’s mother said an acquaintance called her the morning of May 22 saying her child was molested by Shouse at the victim’s uncle’s home, where she was staying.
The child was in the living room with her cousin at the time watching cartoons when Shouse made the victim put on a pink dress and then sat next to her. Shouse then kissed the victim twice on the lips and started touching the inner thigh and private area of the victim, according to the probable cause.
On May 31, a forensic interview was conducted at Susie’s Place in Bloomington regarding the incident.
During the interview, the victim disclosed Shouse kissed her on the lips twice and rubbed her private area, according to the probable cause.
After Petro filed the initial report of the incident, Seymour Officer Ryan Huddleston assisted by contacting the Department of Child Services and informing the detective on call.
During his review, Huddleston noticed the victim was watching cartoons with their cousin prior to the incident. He contacted the victim’s mother to make sure the cousin was not another young female in the house with Shouse.
The mother told Huddleston that the cousin was a 25-year-old female, who also was Shouse’s girlfriend, according to the probable cause.
On May 31, Shouse’s girlfriend came to the Seymour Police Department to make a statement regarding this case.
In her statement, she said the suspect in this case was her father and not Shouse. She said similar alleged incidents to this case have occurred between her father and the victim about seven times total, according to the probable cause.
On June 1, Seymour Detective Michael Henley received a phone call regarding messages that were supposed to be sent to the victim’s mother from Shouse to not pursue criminal charges.
According to the probable cause, Shouse was attempting to offer $50 in an attempt to get the mother of the victim to not pursue criminal charges against him.
The same day, Henley interviewed Shouse and his girlfriend in regard to the incident. Both were interviewed separate and recorded with audio/video that was attached to the case.
During the interview with Shouse’s girlfriend, she admitted to seeing Shouse touch the victim’s private area accidentally and kiss the victim, according to the probable cause.
During the interview with Shouse, he admitted to asking the victim to put on a dress but told her to put shorts on underneath the dress.
Shouse then admitted during the interview that he touched the victim’s private area but only because he was asked to, according to the probable cause.
Shouse also admitted to sending the message that was intended for the mother of the victim in an attempt to have his charges dropped.
He was then placed under arrest for child molesting and obstruction of justice and transported to the Jackson County Jail without further incident.