Man runs to escape sex abuse charges
By Gary Popp
Published in News on January 24, 2012 1:46 PM
Full Size
Joshua Daniel Pelt
A Pikeville man was arrested Friday for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl.
Joshua Daniel Pelt, 42, of 1228 Gurley Dairy Road, was taken into custody by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and charged with first-degree rape of a child and indecent liberties with a child.
Major Tom Effler said Pelt is an acquaintance of the girl and that he is a friend of some of her family members.
The charges stem from a report of sexual abuse filed in early December by a member of the girl's family for an offense that allegedly occurred in June 2011.
Effler said, at this time, Pelt is being charged for a single offense.
He declined to comment on where the alleged offense occurred.
Pelt took steps to elude arrest by moving to at least one other residence than his own and that he had been seen in the Princeton area, after he was made aware that a warrant had been issued for his arrest on Jan. 10.
Effler added that Pelt also had intentions to flee the state.
"When we caught up with him, his vehicle was packed full of stuff ready to leave," he said.
Deputies found Pelt Friday hiding in the bedroom of a home of an acquaintance on Gurley Dairy Road.
Effler said those who lived in the home were cooperative with deputies and there will be no charges pursued for aiding and abetting.
He said it is unclear how Pelt was first made aware that a warrant had been taken out for his arrest, but after initial attempts by deputies to locate him, some media aired his wanted poster released by the Sheriff's Office.
Following his arrest, Pelt was placed under a $510,000 bond and put in the Wayne County Jail.
He was in Wayne County District Court Monday, where he was deemed indigent and provided a court-appointed attorney. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 6.