Arrest made in 1994 rape

Judge sets bond on Kokomo man at $150,000

by Kevin Lilly

Through the use of DNA evidence, an arrest has been made in the abduction and rape of an 11-year-old girl nearly 16 years ago.

At 6:35 p.m. Thursday, Logansport police booked 43-year-old Everett Eugene Dillon Jr. of Kokomo into the Cass County Jail on three counts of child molesting and two counts of criminal confinement.

The arrest is a result of a series of events set in motion by the discovery of a Pharos-Tribune article in the belongings of a convicted murderer and serial rapist serving time in federal prison.

Last June, a cold case detective with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department contacted Lt. Cathi Collins, who handles sex offense cases for the Logansport Police Department.

In an interview Friday, Collins said the detective had been working on a cold case involving a man with a long history of sexual assaults when he discovered a July 18, 1994, Pharos-Tribune article detailing the unsolved rape of an 11-year-old girl among the offender’s belongings.

Police thought the article might be what investigators call a “trophy” from the criminal act.

Collins had evidence from the 1994 rape tested for DNA at the Indiana State Police laboratory in Indianapolis. On Oct. 20, Collins received a letter from the lab stating that it had found a match in the FBI’s national DNA database, but to her surprise, the DNA did not belong to the man with the newspaper article.

In November, Collins traveled to the Hamilton County Jail to interview Dillon, who was serving time on a drunken driving charge. To verify the lab’s findings, Collins took another DNA sample from Dillon for comparison purposes.

In December, Collins received notification the sample matched evidence from the 1994 rape.

According to Pharos-Tribune news articles, someone abducted the 11-year-old girl from the 900 block of Erie Avenue as she walked home from the Iron Horse Festival about 5 p.m. on July 17, 1994. After the rape occurred at an unknown location, the man dropped the victim off near 17th and Usher streets about 9 p.m.

A criminal background check on Dillon revealed other sexual offenses, Collins said.

Dillon, who goes by the name “Gene,” was convicted of the attempted rape of a 13-year-old girl in Cass County in August 1995. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and because of multiple parole violations he served nearly all 10 years behind bars.

Collins found a December 1993 incident involving a 12-year-old girl in Kokomo that did not result in a conviction. The LPD investigator is currently trying to match Dillon’s DNA to at least one other unsolved rape case in Cass County.

When released from prison, Dillon had to register as a sex offender. Collins said other than some traffic violations since 2004, he has not become a suspect in any additional crimes.

Collins secured an arrest warrant for Dillon from Cass Superior Court II on Thursday morning. Police traveled to Kokomo to serve the warrant but discovered that Dillon might be in Logansport. He was reportedly taken into custody without incident along Ind. 29 in Deer Creek.

Collins, who handled the investigation back in 1994, said she had been in contact with the alleged victim, who still lives in Logansport.

Dillon appeared in Cass Superior Court II on Friday morning. Judge Rick Maughmer set bond at $25,000 cash/$150,000 surety.

If convicted on all counts, Dillon faces a possible sentence of up to 190 years in prison.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.

Text Only