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Former Roachdale man charged with child molesting
A former Roachdale man is facing two felonies over child molestation allegations.
Craig M. Tuckett, 40, now of New Albany, was charged recently in Putnam Superior Court with Level 1 felony child molesting by a person over 21 years of age with a victim under 14 years of age and Level 4 felony child molesting.
Charges were initially filed on Nov. 17, with a warrant issued for Tuckett’s arrest on Nov. 21.
He was booked in the Putnam County Jail at 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and made his initial appearance before Judge Denny Bridges later that day.
After Tuckett entered a not-guilty plea, Judge Denny Bridges set his bond at $100,000 cash.
“He testified that his plan had been to go to Africa,” Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter told the Banner Graphic, “so that’s why we asked for the high bond.”
Chris Parker was appointed as Tuckett’s public defender.
According to court records, Putnam County sheriff’s Detective Don Pettit began investigating the case when he was contacted by Floyd County sheriff’s Detective Brad Scott, saying a possible child molestation had occurred in Putnam County in 2016.
During a forensic interview, the girl disclosed she had been touched inappropriately by Tuckett, and that he had later admitted to the girl’s mother that the allegation was true.
In an interview with Pettit, the mother further stated that she reported the matter to the stake president of their church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She said that with her present, Tuckett admitted the abuse to the stake president.
There was later a hearing with Tuckett before the church council to which the mother was not a party.
The mother said the incident was not reported to law enforcement or the Department of Child Services, but that the church provided counseling on the matter.
Pettit later contacted a member of the council, Matthew Bloxham, who would not give any information regarding the hearing until he had contacted the church’s legal department. Later, he told Pettit the legal department had advised him meetings are confidential and he was not at liberty to discuss what occurred.
Bookwalter said his office and investigators are examining this part of the matter.
“We’re looking into that right now whether there are any requirements to report,” Bookwalter said. “We’re used to minister-parishioner privilege. We’re not sure with a stake president and council. Does that apply to everybody on the council or not? Those are issues we’re going to have to deal with.”
Pettit also reported in his probable cause affidavit that he struggled to get return calls from Tuckett, and when he did finally return a call, Tuckett did not show up for a subsequent interview.
Nevertheless, he was finally taken into custody Wednesday morning.
A pretrial conference in the case has been set for 9 a.m. on March 15, 2022.
Level 1 felonies carry a sentencing range of 20-40 years, while Level 4 felonies range from 2-12 years.