United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler, announced today that Charles Hollin 61, a/k/a Andrew David Hall, a former resident of Jackson County, Indiana, has been arrested and charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and identity theft for his efforts to avoid apprehension and prosecution in a 16-year-old kidnapping and child molestation case.
Hollin was arrested this week in Salem, Oregon, and will be returned to Jackson County to face felony charges for crimes alleged to have been committed there in January 1999.
“Catching sexual predators and holding them accountable remains a top priority in my office,” said Minkler. “I applaud the persistent efforts of the FBI and all our local partners in bringing this case to justice and hopefully a bit of closure to the victim and her family.”
It is alleged that during January 1999, a ten-year-old female resident of Jackson County was outside a local girl’s club in Seymour, Indiana, when a man solicited her help to ostensibly retrieve keys from his locked car. Upon nearing the vehicle, the man placed his hand over her mouth and directed her into the car at knifepoint while threatening to kill her.
He drove to a secluded area of the county where he sexually molested her. He then ordered the girl, who was naked, out of his car on an isolated road and threw out her belongings as he sped away. The girl was found and rescued by a passing motorist.
Forensic evidence collected at the molestation scene and in the car, which was later recovered, pointed to Hollin as a suspect. Two counts of class B felony confinement with a deadly weapon and three counts of class A felony child molestation charges were filed by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in February 2000.
While attempting to locate and arrest Hollin, law enforcement officials learned that he had fled the Central Indiana area. They further determined from Hollin’s friends and co-workers that he professed to have fake hair pieces, mustaches and other means of disguising himself. He is alleged to have once told a co-worker, “If you want to, and know how, you can become someone else, just like that, real easy.”
Subsequent attempts to locate and arrest Hollin on the Jackson County charges were unsuccessful for over 16 years. In 2007, a federal warrant was issued for Hollin’s arrest on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on the Jackson County charges.
During December 2016, the FBI determined through use of Facial Analysis, Comparison and Evaluation (FACE) services that Hollin may be residing in Salem, Oregon, under the assumed name Andrew David Hall, an eight-year-old boy who had been killed in a car accident in 1975, in Fayette County, Kentucky.
FBI agents apprehended Hollin in Oregon at his place of employment earlier this week. Hollin, who had his initial appearance on the federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and identity theft, remains in the custody of the United States Marshal Service in Portland, Oregon, to be returned to the Southern District of Indiana.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Social Security Administration, Indiana State Police, Seymour Indiana Police Department, and the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
“This case is a prime example of the tenacity of the FBI,” said Indianapolis FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott. “The public should be assured the FBI will not stop seeking justice for innocent victims.”
“The Jackson County Office of the Prosecutor is thankful for the great efforts of the Seymour Police Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for working tirelessly to capture this fugitive from justice” said Jackson County Prosecutor AmyMarie Travis. “It is my hope that their efforts will begin the process of giving closure to the victim/survivor in this case. Perhaps, the tireless work of law enforcement in this case will give a measure of hope to other victims awaiting justice and serve as a warning to other fugitives that we will not stop looking for them.”
Assistant United States Attorney Bradley P. Shepard who is prosecuting this case for the government said Hollin could face up to 8 years’ imprisonment if convicted on the federal charges. He faces decades’ imprisonment if convicted on the Jackson County charges.
A complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in federal court.
