By Emma Rausch
emma@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH, Ind. – A former Wabash man was convicted Wednesday, Dec. 21, for charges that stemmed from a 1997 child molestation case.
Christopher L. Kimble, 46, Fairfax, S.C., was found guilty of felony child molesting and felony attempted child molesting.
The charges stemmed from a 1997 investigation in which a child younger than 10-years-old reported to local law enforcement that Kimble had touched them inappropriately in 1994, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The child told officers that they knew the difference between good touch and bad touch after learning about it in school, the documents continued.
A warrant was issued for Kimble’s arrest on June 3, 1997, but was not fulfilled until Oct. 26, 2016.
On Jan. 23, 1998, Prosecutor Alfred Plummer III filed for a fugitive warrant for Kimble in regards to the case, according to court documents.
However, in June 1997, Kimble had been extradited to South Carolina for charges stemming from a May 1996 rape case, according to Spartanburg County, S.C. court records.
On Feb. 11, 1998, he was sentenced to 25 years for first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping.
On Jan. 27, 1998, the Attorney General for the State of Indiana filed a notice with the governor of South Carolina that, after Kimble’s proceedings, the state should forward papers and information to the Extradition Office, Wabash County court records continued.
Later, the State of Indiana was informed that Kimble was incarcerated “serving a lengthy jail term and was believed to be sentenced to 50 years at the South Carolina Department of Corrections,” according to Plummer.
As of Oct. 26, Kimble had served 18 years of his South Carolina conviction when he was extradited back to Wabash County to stand trial for the local allegations.
On Wednesday, Kimble and his attorney Craig Persinger moved to vacate judgment on count one, felony child molestation, on double jeopardy grounds, and it will be taken into advisement and address it at the sentencing, according to court documents.
The sentencing hearing was set for Monday, Jan. 9, at 3 p.m.