A 35-year-old Austin man is out on bail today after being arrested and charged with felony criminal sexual conduct.

Thursday, September 16, 1999

A 35-year-old Austin man is out on bail today after being arrested and charged with felony criminal sexual conduct.

Austin Police served a warrant on John Melvin Karnes Jr. on Wednesday after a 5-year-old girl told police Karnes molested her.

The alleged incident occurred Aug. 27, after Karnes arrived intoxicated at a friend’s home on the 600 block of North Main St., where the girl and her 21-year-old mother were staying with the mother’s 26-year-old boyfriend, a friend of Karnes.

The police report said the mother told Karnes he could stay the night and directed Karnes to sleep on the couch.

The police report went on to say that the next morning the girl awoke and asked her mother, "What was that man doing in my room last night?"

At the time, the mother and her boyfriend thought nothing of the comment, the police report said.

But on Sept. 2, after talking to her daughter about the incident, the mother filed a report with the police. Later in an interview with police, police helped recreate the incident with the girl, who told police, "He was licking me down there."

She went on to say that Karnes took her underwear off and "bonked her head on the wall." The girl told police she cried while Karnes touched her.

"She did a good job of describing what happened," Police Chief Paul Philipp said.

The story the girl told police matched the story she told her mother’s aunt, who police also talked to. Philipp said police investigators were confident the girl was being honest.

Police attempted to contact Karnes after interviewing the girl, but couldn’t reach him.

On Sept. 9, Karnes called the police and told them to speak with his attorney.

Police then received a warrant for Karnes arrest. A warrant includes the formal charges against a subject, meaning the Mower County Attorney’s office reviewed the evidence and was confident enough to charge Karnes with felony criminal sexual conduct.

Karnes was picked up Wednesday at his home at 906 2nd Ave. NE and he later posted $25,000 bail.