BEDFORD – A Bedford man was arrested on four counts of child molestation and a sexual battery charge after an investigation by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department.
Police arrested 33-year-old Joshua Marrs.
The investigation began on Friday, June 10 after detectives were alerted by the Department of Child Services about information of a possible crime.
An 11-year-old girl accused Marrs of inappropriately touching her.
During a forensic interview at Susie’s Place in Bloomington, the girl told officials she didn’t feel safe around Marrs. She stated that he would touch her inappropriately when she was in her bed at night. She continued that she would wake to find his hands up her shirt or down her pants. The girl said he would also make her touch him in an inappropriate way.
The girl said it was “gross and she didn’t like it”.
The girl reported this happened more than one time.
After the interview police secured a search warrant for the girl’s home where the alleged crime took place. That warrant was served on Friday, June 10, 2022. Items were seized and processed for DNA testing.
On Friday, June 17, 2022, detectives interviewed Marrs. He told police he was shocked about the allegations. He said the child was mad because she had lost her phone privileges due to bad behavior and being rude to extended family members. She was also upset because her family was moving to Bloomington and she was not happy about that. He denied the allegations of sexual abuse.
Police collected a DNA sample from Marrs.
All the evidence and samples were sent to the Indiana State Police Lab for testing on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. A report from the lab was returned and concluded a presumptive positive test for seminal fluid of Marrs was found in the girl’s bedroom.
The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and a warrant was issued for Marrs’ arrest.
