Molesting case tops reader views

KENDALLVILLE — An arrest of a Pleasant Lake man on a child molesting charge was the most-read story of the week on kpcnews.com.

John A. Stalf, 50, allegedly fondled a girl that was 10 at the time, said charging documents filed in Steuben Superior Court. The incident allegedly took place either Oct. 18 or 19, 2020, shortly before the girl’s 11th birthday, court records said.

The girl was spending the night at the Stalf home, sleeping on a couch, court documents said, when he allegedly touched her inappropriately.

The incident was reported to the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in March by the victim’s mother.

The story picked up more than 7,000 views, making it easily the most-read piece this week.

Here's the Top 10 most-read stories between May 6-12:

1) Man jailed for alleged child molesting — 7,295 pageviews

2) Injured firefighter well on road to recovery one year later — 904 pageviews (2,381 total)

3) Sexual assault survivor shares her story — 717 pageviews

4) Police Blotter: DeKalb — 654 pageviews

5) Trine lands three Eastside gridders — 643 pageviews

6) Board eliminated Wilson's contract, but he's leaving with cash in hand — 598 pageviews

7) Head-on collision on snowy road injures both drivers — 565 pageviews

8) Lakeside Meats doubles in size, expands offerings — 553 pageviews

9) LaGrange, Steuben counties post worst COVID-19 scores in state this week — 551 pageviews

10) Man arrested after foot chase, struggle — 484 pageviews (1,384 total)

Over on the KPC News Facebook page, posts about COVID-19 were the most popular of the week:

May 7: The number of first-timers getting vaccines dropped again, with fewer than 1,000 residents in the four-county area getting shots this past week. More than half of people 16 and older in the region are yet to be vaccinated — 3,808 people reached, 15 reactions three comments

May 10: Testing has dropped off as more people become vaccinated and don't need it as often. Likewise, deaths have plummeted from more than 100 per day in December to just six per day recently across all Indiana — 3,690 people reached, nine reactions, one share, four comments

On the individual newspaper pages, a child molesting arrest, a Habitat for Humanity update and a talker piece about bikes and skates in downtown Kendallville were the top posts of the week:

May 7: (The Herald Republican) The assault allegedly took place when the child was 10 years old and was staying the night in the Stalf home — 1,175 people reached, 132 reactions, 47 shares, 151 comments

May 10: (The Star) Habitat for Humanity building Waterloo house — 458 people reached, 22 reactions, one share, two comments

May 12: (The News Sun) It's been about 25 years since the city banned skateboards and roller skates from downtown sidewalks, while bicycles have been banned for nearly 60 years — 1,523 people reached, 10 reactions, three shares, 14 comments