For Immediate Release

Date: July 19, 2024

Location: 1100 Cinnamon Road

Time: 0910 hours

Suspect Arrested #1:  Joseph William Offerle, 38 years old

Preliminary Charges: Count I: Child Molesting, a Level 1 Felony; Count II:  Child Molesting, a Level 1 Felony; Count III:  Child Molesting, a Level 4 Felony ; Count IV:  Incest, a Level 5 Felony; Count V: Child Solicitation, a Level 5 Felony

Details/Summary:

A grandmother brought her grandchildren to the Police Operations Center on Monday, July 15, 2024 after they came to her reporting child sexual abuse (CSA) to one of them. Another grandchild was a witness to the CSA. Detective John Chambers, an investigator from the FWPD Crimes Against Persons Section (CAPS), was assigned to the case. The minor child visited the Dr. Bill Lewis Center For Children where she participated in a recorded Forensic Interview. She disclosed details about the CSA naming Joseph Offerle as the alleged defendant. Detective Chambers and other detectives from CAPS descended on the residence of the alleged defendant this morning and took him into custody. They executed a Search Warrant of the home at that time. The alleged defendant was arrested for the charges listed. Detective Chambers was assisted by the Fort Wayne Victims Assistance and the Indiana Department of Child Services.