Portage man charged after molesting teen: records

A Portage man faces a felony charge after assaulting a teen girl, according to court documents.

Joshua Bates, 26, was charged Wednesday with sexual misconduct with a minor, a Level 4 felony. He faces up to 12 years if convicted.

He is in custody, held without bail.

A witness called Hobart police Jan. 1 after the victim told her friend that Bates, her mother’s boyfriend, touched her inappropriately around 3 p.m. that day.

The girl told investigators Bates was lying in bed between her and her mother as they watched TV. After the mother fell asleep, Bates started to grope the girl, then molested her, according to the affidavit.

During the incident, she “couldn’t speak” and was “in shock” and “scared.”

The teen left for her friend’s house just after 5 p.m. There, the friend said she was “crying” and “fidgeting,” before confiding what happened.

Bates messaged the girl on Facebook, telling her to keep what happened between them, the affidavit alleges. The girl messaged him back that she was 15.

He told police he took a Lyft to see his girlfriend on New Year’s Eve. He had “sleeping issues” and hadn’t slept since then. He denied drinking or using drugs.

In his police interview, Bates denied touching the child, claiming at one point the girl brushed against him and he rejected her advances.

When a detective said the girl was at the hospital getting examined, Bates admitted touching her. He claimed her mother said the girl was 19.

A new court date is not yet set.

mcolias@post-trib.com