sexual assault

40 Years After Crimes, Man Charged With 100 Counts of Rape

Harvey J. Fountain. Photo: Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

On Tuesday, a 71-year-old Louisiana man named Harvey J. Fountain was charged with 100 counts of first-degree rape, according to ABC News.

The alleged assaults occurred around Pineville, Louisiana, beginning in the early 1970s and continuing for a decade. All of Fountain’s alleged victims were children under the age of 13 years old.

Fountain was arrested and charged after a victim came forward to police on April 1, and suggested that there were more victims, according to the Washington Post.

“One victim came forward and was aware of others that may have been a victim of Fountain’s,” Lieutenant Stephen Phillips, of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, told the Post. “After additional interviews, additional victims were located. And we still have more to interview.”

Phillips did not reveal how many additional victims might be involved in the case against Fountain.

There is no statute of limitations on rape in Louisiana. A first-degree rape conviction can carry a life sentence, and if the assault was committed against a child, first-degree rape can carry the death sentence in the state.

Fountain is being held on a $1 million bond. A grand jury date has not been set, and the public defender’s office has not announced who will be representing Fountain.

According to the sheriff’s office, further allegations are still under investigation, and “more arrests are possible” in the case.

40 Years After Crimes, Man Charged With 100 Counts of Rape