Pocono News Section

Wayne County Man Arrested on Sex Charges For the Second Time

Wayne County Man Arrested on Sex Charges For the Second Time - Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 6:09PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Wednesday, Dec 9, 2009 @ 06:09pm EST
HONESDALE, WAYNE COUNTY - For the second time in two months, a Wayne County man is facing sex charges. Todd Rowles turned himself in at the Wayne County courthouse Wednesday afternoon. State Police say he had sexual contact with a teenage girl.

Those charges come on top of other sex charges that were filed in October. In that case, Rowles was accused of raping an eight-year-old girl.

Rowles said nothing as he walked into the courthouse in Honesdale. In this latest case, police say the inappropriate contact with the 14-year-old girl started in October 2008.

"We do know Mr. Rowles and his victim did know each other before the sex acts started and then over a period of time he did perform sex acts with that victim," Trooper Bill Satkowski said.

Rowles' attorney says he doesn't think these new charges will go far for two main reasons.

"They did a DNA test and the DNA test did not match that of the defendent. The second thing is, we have evidence and will prove that at trial, that this lady recanted or changed her testimony," defense attorney Randy Borden said.

Because this is the second arrest for Rowles, state police now wonder if there are even more victims.

"We're still investigating this incident but it is possible with these types of circumstances. You just never know how many victims there could be," Trooper John Decker said.

Rowles had been out on bail but because of the new charges, a judge increased the amount by $100,000, sending the Pleasant Mount man back behind bars.

"The young man is not a flight risk and I think the bail that was charged in this case was excessive," Borden said.

In court Wednesday, we learned Rowles has held an air conditioning business job for the last nine years. His boss and parents were in the courtroom to support him. He is expected back in court next week.