Man charged with sexual abuse

April 15--A Burlington man was charged Friday with third-degree sexual assault for molesting a teenage girl over a four-year period.

Eric Hillman, 36, 1318 N. 9th St., appeared Friday in Des Moines County District Court on two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each charge.

Des Moines County District Associate Judge Jennifer Bailey set Hillman's bond at $20,000 cash only. She ordered him to appear in court at 2 p.m.April 24.

According to the complaint unsealed Friday in Des Moines County District Court, Hillman is accused of molesting the girl beginning when she was 12 years old.

Burlington police became aware of the situation after they were notified by an official with the Scott County Department of Human Services (DHS) last October, who told them their office had been contacted by a teenage girl stating she had been molested by a Burlington man.

"A forensic interview was conducted with the girl by the Child Protection Response Team in Davenport," court records state. "During that interview, the girl told them she had been abused between 2012 and 2015" by the same man.

The teenager said the abuse occurrred between "12 and 15 times" during that period. She said the abuse turned from fondling to having sexual intercourse.

The girl has moved from the Burlington area, court records indicate.

Burlington detectives made telephone contact with Hillman, asking him to come to the Burlington Police Department for an interview. Hillman agreed to a meeting at the police department Jan. 23, but never appeared.

"Detectives made numerous attempts to contact him, however he refused to return telephone calls," court records state. "He finally returned a telephone call after detectives attempted to contact Hillman, where he worked for a car dealership in Mount Pleasant.

"In speaking with Hillman, the detective asked why he had not shown up for his interview and Hillman suggested he knew what the case was pertaining to and stated he would contact his attorney, then call police back with a date and time to conduct the interview ... However, he refused to return future telephone calls from the detective and never scheduled a time for an interview."

Detectives said Hillman has been "uncooperative during the entire investigation."

A warrant was issued for his arrest on the sex abuse charges and he was taken into custody abut 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the 1300 block of North 9th Street in Burlington.

If convicted of the charges, he could be ordered to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life in addition to being sentenced to prison.

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