Police seek man charged with sex abuse, 150 related counts

Robert William Mulkern Jr. failed to appear for scheduled trial

September 21, 2010|By DON AINES

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A man charged with sexually abusing a girl failed to appear in Washington County Circuit Court for his scheduled trial Monday and was being sought on those charges plus more than 150 other related counts.

"He wasn't there because he knows he's wanted on a new case," Assistant State's Attorney Brett Wilson said Tuesday of Robert William Mulkern Jr., 44, whose last known address was on Spielman Road in Williamsport. "I tend to believe he's still in the area."

Mulkern was charged in March by Maryland State Police with four counts of third-degree sex offense, two counts of unnatural or perverted practices and one count of child pornography, according to court documents.

At the time of his arrest, the Washington County Warrant Task Force found him living in a wooded area near Halfway, according to the application for statement of charges.

Mulkern had posted $75,000 bond on those charges in April and was released from the Washington County Detention Center.

Mulkern subsequently was charged by state police with 149 counts of child pornography, nine counts of third-degree sex offense and one count of sexual abuse of a minor, according to District Court records.

All of the charges involved alleged sexual misconduct with the same girl, who was 15 years old when the incidents took place between April and September 2009, according to the application for statement of charges.

Mulkern is being sought by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in both cases. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He is believed to be homeless and still could be living in the woods near Halfway and Valley Mall, the sheriff's office said.

Anyone who sees Mulkern is asked to call 911, or if they have information about his whereabouts to call the sheriff's office at 240-313-2192.

In the course of the investigation, police seized two computers and a digital camera found at a former residence of Mulkern's, according to the application for statement of charges. Each of the child pornography charges relates to images of the girl taken between April and September 2009, the statement said.

Those photos included the girl depicted alone, with Mulkern and, in photos taken in September 2009, with another man, Michael Zimmer, according to the application for statement of charges.

Mulkern and the girl met while she was in foster care in Hagerstown, according to the application for statement of charges. The girl later was returned to her mother in Allegany County and ran away to Mulkern's home, the statement said.

Zimmer, 39, of Finksburg, Md., was charged with 65 counts of child pornography and one count of sexual abuse of a minor, according to court records.

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