A Nashville man and his wife were charged last week with several felonies related to a sexual assault investigation.
Indiana State Police Detective Stacy Brown served a search warrant on the Salt Creek Road home of James R. and Danielle R. Melton on Jan. 11.
The investigation started after a report was made to the Department of Child Services that James Melton had sexually assaulted a teenage girl in November.
The first assault happened the day before Thanksgiving last year, she told police.
The second assault happened the day after Thanksgiving; she told police that James Melton assaulted her twice that day.
The teen told two other children about the assaults, and one of them encouraged her to call the police, court paperwork said.
James Melton, 40, was charged May 1 with three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, all Level 4 felonies.
He and Danielle Melton, 32, were charged with maintaining a common nuisance — controlled substances, a Level 6 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Det. Brown served a search warrant at the Meltons’ home, looking for sex toys the teen had described. He reported finding a zippered pouch in a dresser drawer belonging to Danielle Melton, and inside was a glass pipe with burnt residue.
When Brown discovered that the item in the pouch was a pipe, a new search warrant was requested and granted to look for drugs in the home that day, the report said.
Brown also found straws with white powder residue on the ends inside the pouch, and two plastic baggies containing white powder residue, the police report said.
In the master bedroom, troopers found a wooden box containing a glass pipe, as well as a plastic bottle containing numerous small plastic baggies with white powder residue inside. The bottle was inside a locked metal box, the police report said.
A field test conducted on the powder tested positive for methamphetamine, the report said.
Danielle Melton refused to talk with police about the items found in her bedroom, the report said.
James Melton told police he had never had any sexual contact with the teen; he said he was being set up and that she had been “coached.” He refused to take a polygraph test, the report said.
He said the metal box was “community property” and had items belonging to both him and Danielle Melton inside.
An arrest warrant was issued for the Meltons on May 3. They turned themselves in to the Brown County jail at about 12:15 p.m. May 4 and bonded out almost immediately.
