He Was Arrested on 50 Counts of Child Rape. Then Another 50

Assaults on children under 13 allegedly occurred in 1970s and '80s
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2019 2:10 PM CDT
71-Year-Old's Alleged Crime Is Child Rape—100 Times Over
Harvey Joseph Fountain   (Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office via AP)

At the start of this month, a person told central Louisiana police about being raped as a child, identifying the alleged perpetrator as Harvey Joseph Fountain of Pineville. The 71-year-old has now been arrested on 100 preliminary counts of first-degree rape stemming from alleged assaults on children over the course of a decade, from the early 1970s to early 1980s. After the initial accuser named other possible victims, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office followed up, finding numerous cases where Fountain allegedly raped children under 13 in places he lived and frequented in Pineville, some 115 miles from Baton Rouge, per CNN.

Fountain was arrested April 9 on 50 preliminary counts related to more than one alleged victim; he was re-arrested on another 50 preliminary counts three days later after police "identified additional victims," according to a police statement. It doesn't mention the number of alleged victims but notes the investigation "is still ongoing, and more arrests are possible." Per the Washington Post, Lt. Stephen Phillips adds "we still have more [victims] to interview." As there is no statute of limitations for first-degree rape in Louisiana, a grand jury will decide if Fountain should be indicted and on which charges, per CNN, which notes a first-degree rape charge can carry a sentence of life imprisonment or death. Fountain was held late Tuesday with bail set at $1 million, per ABC News. (More child rape stories.)

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