19-year-old arrested for relationship with girl, 14

Clark County

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September 21, 2012

19-year-old arrested for relationship with girl, 14

Police say man initially told girl he was 16

By GARY POPP gary.popp@newandtribune.com The News and Tribune Fri Sep 21, 2012, 07:41 AM EDT

CLARKSVILLE — A Clarksville man has been preliminarily charged for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl, five years his junior.

Shane Thomas Brewer, 19, of 1023 State St., was arrested by Clarksville police Wednesday afternoon, following an interview with investigators at the police department.

The charges stem from a series of alleged sexual interactions between Brewer and the child that investigators estimate to have occurred over the course of six months starting in October 2011. Police said the two are considered to have been in a relationship, but added that Brewer had told the girl he was 16 years old when they began dating.

Investigators said the girl later became aware that Brewer was actually 19, but the child’s family was introduced to Brewer under the pretense that he was a 16-year-old.

The crimes are believed to have occurred in Clarksville, near the abandoned Green Tree theater, and in Jeffersonville, near the Aquatic Center, investigators said.

Clarksville police were contacted by child protective services Sept. 12 after the girl’s mother contacted the agency. Clarksville investigators said a forensic interview was conducted by the Children Advocacy Center in New Albany, prior to Brewer’s arrest.

Investigators said Brewer does not have a mobile phone, so a letter was sent to his home, which investigators said he shares with his stepfather and stepbrother, informing him he was a suspect in an alleged crime and requesting that he contact police. Police said Brewer is not employed and does not attend school.

Brewer has been preliminarily charged with sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class C felony.

If found guilty of the charge, Brewer could be sent to the Indiana Department of Correction for a maximum of eight years.

There were no online court records listed for Brewer as of press time.