61-year-old charged in rape case

CHRISTOPHER SPENCER
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Working on a tip from the FBI, Little Rock police began searching the house of 61-year-old John Rauch, a registered sex offender.
Inside, police said they found a makeshift studio used for filming child pornography. Using a detachable computer camera, Rauch had been recording his sexual activities with a 12-year-old girl, police said.
Rauch was charged with rape and was taken to the Pulaski County jail, where he is being held on a $25,000 bond until a Dec. 28 circuit court date, officials said.
Federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography are pending, police said. The FBI declined to comment on the investigation.
Little Rock police acted on an anonymous tip the FBI had received earlier when they served search and arrest warrants about 6 p.m. Friday at Rauch's residence on Glenda Drive in the Twin Lakes neighborhood.
Investigators said they seized several items from Rauch's residence including computer equipment, a CD labeled "Rosey Pics," a "record" book, a pair of girl's panties and three stuffed animals. Police said they also seized several "fetish items" -- including rubber gloves, douche bags, gas masks, a hot water bottle and rubber tubing -- believed to have been used during the recording sessions also were seized, police said.
"We found a whole lot of stuff that is still going to have to be searched," an investigator said, referring to more than 300 diskettes and high-capacity data storage "zip" disks.
Police said they found images depicting Rauch raping the 12-year-old girl in their preliminary inspection of the seized computer equipment. Police said they believed the computer disks contain images of other children in sexual acts.
The 12-year-old victim is not from the neighborhood, police said.
During an interview, the girl said she was raped on several occasions by Rauch with foreign objects. She told police Rauch threatened to send her and her younger sister to a foster home if she told anyone about the activities.
The victim also told investigators that she did not know that pictures were being taken of her during these occasions.
A search of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette archives revealed that a man named John Rauch, 50, living at the same address, was arrested in November 1989 on two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Police could not confirm whether it was the same John Rauch who was arrested Friday.
Of the 1989 arrest, police said Rauch molested two girls, 7 and 9, at his home on several occasions. The outcome of that court case was not available Saturday night.

This article was published on Sunday, December 17, 2000

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