VALPARAISO — Jury selection was set to begin Tuesday morning in a nearly five-year-old criminal case involving the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl at a Hebron home.
Kittrell Hawthorne, 47, now of Georgia, is charged with felony counts of rape, child molesting and auto theft stemming from the alleged incident on Aug. 28, 2019, records show.
Kittrell Hawthorne
Police said when they arrived at the home that night they found the young girl sitting on a couch with her head in her lap and crying uncontrollably.
The girl's mother said she had gone to work that night and left her three children with Hawthorne, but returned unexpectedly and found Hawthorne in the girl's bedroom looking surprised and sweaty, police said. Hawthorne reportedly ran past the woman, who found her daughter in the bedroom closet crying and only partially clothed.
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Hawthorne, who was dating the woman, allegedly left without permission in her vehicle, according to police.
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The girl told police she went to bed that night and awoke at some point to Hawthorne lying with her. It was then that he is accused of raping her, causing her physical harm, police said.
Hawthorne was taken into custody at gunpoint the following morning after police were tipped off that he was on his way to pick up his last paycheck in Merrillville before intending to flee the area.
The trial is taking place this week before Porter Superior Court Judge Mike Fish.