The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man on child sexual abuse charges earlier this month.
According to a release from the department, on March 9, deputies received a report of child sexual abuse involving a juvenile being victimized by 61-year-old John Walter Breedlove.
Investigators, partnering with the Rowan County Department of Social Services and the Terrie Hess House Child Advocacy Center, learned that the victim, who was younger than 13 years-old and known to Breedlove, had allegedly been sexually abused on numerous occasions at Breedlove’s home on Dunns Mountain Church Road.
The investigation was initiated after the victim told their parents of the abuse and they called 911. A search warrant of the home led to the seizure of evidence including home surveillance footage showing the victim being forced into a room where the abuse occurred.
Arrest warrants were obtained for Breedlove’s arrest on March 18, and he was taken into custody at his home. He is being held at the Rowan County Detention Center without bond on charges of kidnapping, taking indecent liberties with a child, first degree forcible sex offense, first degree sex offense, and sexual battery.
