Bainbridge couple arrested in sex misconduct case

Sunday, February 5, 2017

BAINBRIDGE -- A Bainbridge man is facing nine felony charges relative to alleged sexual misconduct with two female relatives, while his wife is facing three counts for her involvement, which includes neglecting to report what she allegedly knew was occurring in their home.

Robert E. Glaze Jr., 55, and wife April D. Glaze were arrested Saturday afternoon by Bainbridge Town Marshal Rodney Fenwick. They were lodged in the Putnam County Jail, awaiting an initial appearance in court, which could come as early as today (Monday).

Their charges stem from accusations of multiple reported incidents occurring over the period Sept. 29, 2015-Nov. 28, 2016 and involving two girls ages 10-11 and 12-13 during that time.

Those allegations have been investigated by Robert Peschke, supervisor of the Department of Child Services, and David Meadows, Putnam County Prosecutor's Office investigator, which led to the arrest of the couple Saturday.

Robert E. Glaze Jr. is facing the following charges:

-- Six separate counts of child molesting (involving each reported victim three times) as a Level 1 felony, punishable by 20-40 years in prison.

-- Two counts of child exploitation (one each per alleged victim) as a Level 5 felony, punishable by 1-6 years in prison.

-- One count of possession of child pornography as a result of possessing nude photos he allegedly took of a female victim or victims he knew to be less than 18 years old. It is a Level 6 felony, punishable by 6-30 months in prison.

April Glaze is facing the following charges:

-- Two counts of neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony.

-- One count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors for knowingly or intentionally disseminating photographic images and videos of a minor child. It is also a Level 6 felony.

The case came to light in late November when one of the girls disclosed alleged inappropriate touching by Glaze of her breasts and vaginal area, usually while she was taking a bath.

The probable cause affidavit filed in the case notes that April Glaze "thought Robert had stopped touching the girl because she had not seen him do it for a while." She also told investigators that she slapped his head and hands and told him to stop but did not report the incident or incidents to authorities.

The girls were subsequently taken to Susie's Place in Hendricks County as a safe haven. Once there, they wrote letters describing alleged acts and gave videotaped interviews that revealed multiple instances of inappropriate sexual interaction with Robert Glaze, including oral activity and sexual intercourse.

One victim said April Glaze knew what was happening "because I was yelling" and she had seen him "with his pants down trying to rape me."

The older girl also told investigators that Glaze had taken nude photos and a video of her with his cell phone.

The Prosecutor's Office obtained a search warrant for that phone and has entered the photos and video into evidence in the case.

The girl also said April Glaze had shown her several cell phone pictures of naked men and women, even after the alleged victim asked her to stop, court records note.

The woman also reportedly walked in on her husband having sex with the underage girls on more than one occasion, the probable cause affidavit states. The girls said the woman only told him "you know better" or smacked him on the back of the head without further consequence.

When the search warrant was served Jan. 21, investigators seized the Glazes' individual cell phones as well as pink camo bed sheets described by one of the alleged victims and a red bottle of lotion Robert reportedly used during the alleged sexual activity.