Riverside pastor faces first-degree felony charge of raping child
New indictment of Dennis Bowling on Thursday raises number of sex-related counts
from 76 to 84.
Dayton Daily News
By Lou Grieco
Dayton - A new indictment of Dennis Bowling, the Riverside pastor already
charged with 76 sex-related counts, will take that number up to 84, including a
first-degree felony.
In December, Bowling was charged with 11 counts of sexual battery. A January
indictment added 65 counts, all but one a felony.
The new indictment, issued by a grand jury Thursday, will replace the January
indictment, said Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Greg Flannagan.
The 73 counts in the new indictment corrects some dates in the January
indictment, which is critical because Ohio law takes age of victim into
consideration for some offenses and penalties, Flannagan said.
The new indictment includes a count of rape of a child under the age of 13, the
first time Bowling has been charged with a first-degree felony.
Bowling, 45, pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church, 2360 Valley Pike, for 19 years,
remains in the Montgomery County Jail on $1 million bond.
Bowling was arrested after a group of women from the congregation told police he
had sexually assaulted several female members of the church.
It's unclear how many victims are covered by the new indictment. Prosecutors and
Riverside police said there were originally nine to 12 victims, but the number
could grow. Flannagan said he did not know if investigators had found any new
victims.
.
|
