A New Castle man who was already out of jail after being charged with child solicitation has now been arrested a second time – now for child molestation.
Dalton L. Armstrong, 29, was arrested in late April after police found evidence that he sent nude photographs to a 14-year-old girl and requested she do the same. He was charged with several child solicitation charges and booked into jail, but bonded out the same day after paying $2,900.
Now, Armstrong has again been arrested – this time accused of molesting a 6-year-old girl several times.
The Henry County Sheriff’s Department got an anonymous report on May 29 that a man later identified as Armstrong had possibly been involved in a sex offense. The report said the victim was a 6-year-old girl.
Authorities began investigating the allegations and soon spoke with the mother of the victim, who told police she had once seen Armstrong rubbing the victim’s belly while they were in bed together. When the mother asked the girl, she said Armstrong had inappropriately touched her.
The mother told police she reported the incident to a local pastor, who held a meeting with the victim’s family and Armstrong. However, the pastor reportedly said that he was “99% sure” that Armstrong didn’t do anything illegal after looking him in the face and asking “tough” questions.
When more family members of the victim found out about the incident, a report was made to police and the victim was brought in for an interview. During this, the girl told police that “Dalton does bad stuff” and that he touches people in their private areas.
The victim went on to describe how, on several occasions and in several settings, Armstrong allegedly touched her under her underwear and molested her. She said that the suspect “told her not to tell her mom because she would be mad,” court docs show.
After the interview, police filed charges on July 9 against Armstrong in Henry County. He now faces two charges of child molestation – a level 4 felony. Armstrong has since pled not guilty to the charges and a jury trial in the case is scheduled to begin on Nov. 18, 2024.
Armstrong has not entered a plea in his child solicitation case from April, but has waived his initial hearing. A jury trial in that case is scheduled to begin on Oct. 21.
Source: IndyNOW 4