Hammond man charged with molesting preteen girl

A Hammond man is facing charges alleging he repeatedly sexually assaulted a preteen girl, then told police she lied about it.

Deshawn Emerson, 29, is facing up to 92 years. He was charged Tuesday with two counts of Level 1 child molesting and one count of Level 4 child molesting.

He has not been apprehended and is ordered held without bail.

Hammond Police responded on Sept. 2, 2022, to Community Hospital in Munster. The child wrote a note to a friend at school alleging the sexual abuse. The affidavit estimates the assaults happened between April and September 2022.

The victim recalled that Emerson forced her to perform a sex act in July 2022. She later said the abuse started “several times” before then.

In other incidents, she alleged he sexually assaulted her.

Emerson denied the allegations, saying the girl was lying and angry he got his girlfriend pregnant.

The child was “clingy,” he claimed.

Emerson told authorities he would take a polygraph test. The results were inconclusive. He also gave a DNA swab.

Another child told investigators that the victim would sit on his lap when they watched movies. In one incident where the victim said Emerson sexually assaulted her in an attic, the witness said he and the child were alone there for 30 minutes.

The victim was later diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease, court records show. The affidavit does not show results for Emerson.

mcolias@post-trib.com