Cherokee County, N.C., authorities have charged a 41-year-old Murphy man with sexually assaulting a child.
Barry Wade Allen is charged on a grand jury indictment with statutory sex offense with a child greater than 13 years of age and defendant six years or more older and taking indecent liberties with a child, Sheriff Derrick Palmer said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The sheriff said the incident was reported in June and the case was presented to the grand jury in July.
However, Allen fled from Cherokee County prior to indictments being issued, Palmer said. The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit helped officials locate Allen in Louisiana in late-September.
Palmer said Allen waived extradition and was brought back to Cherokee County face the charges.
The North Carolina Magistrate in the case set a $500,000 secure bond as well as conditions that Allen have no contact with the victim. Allen is held at the Cherokee County Detention Center awaiting a Dec. 11 date in Cherokee County Superior Court.
Palmer said that because of the age of the victim and the sensitive nature of the incident no further information is expected to be released.
Palmer encouraged anyone with information on this crime or any other to report it. To report a crime in Cherokee County, call the anonymous tip line at 828-837-1344 or email a tip at crime.tips@cherokeecounty-nc.gov or call 911 if you observe a crime in progress.