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Last updated on Monday, December 5, 2016
(SEYMOUR) - Seymour Police arrested the co-owner of a gas station in Seymour, after he sexually assaulted a young teen in a freezer room at the gas station.
33-year-old Amandeep Singh was arrested on Friday. He also is an owner of Hoosier Pete's in Bedford.
According to a Jackson County Circuit Court probable cause affidavit, the incident took place just after 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 27. Court documents indicate that the victim was a 15-year-old girl.
Singh is being charged with two Level 5 felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and a Level 6 felony charge of criminal confinement. He is being held without bond.
Police began their investigation after the victim's mother was told that her daughter had been absent from Seymour High School, where she is a student.
While waiting to speak with the principal about her daughter's truancy, the mother was approached by one of her daughter's close friends, who told her that, "she needs to find out what has been going on at the old gas station."
The friend told the mother that the clerk at the gas station had inappropriately touched and kissed her daughter, and had done things "that weren't appropriate to say at a school setting."
The gas station is located at 829 North Ewing Street in Seymour.
The victim's mother asked her daughter what happened, then took her to Seymour Police to report the incident.
Police say the victim told them that she walked to the gas station on Sunday, November 27, just before 9:50 p.m., to buy tea for her grandmother. Singh, who is part owner of the station and a family friend to the victim's family, was working that night. The girl purchased the tea, then took it to her grandmother's home, before returning to the gas station just before 10 p.m.
She told police she walked to the back of the gas station to get a soda, but the ice machine was out of ice. At that point, Singh grabbed a bag of ice, walked to the back of the freezer room, and asked her to follow. She told police that the reason she followed was because she thought Singh just wanted to talk, "since they have known each other all of her life."
Once in the freezer room, Singh began kissing and fondling the girl.
The victim told Singh she needed to go home -- but Singh allegedly told her she should stay a little longer.
When she tried to pull away, Singh wouldn't let her go. The girl told Singh to stop and Singh told her "it didn't matter she didn't have a boyfriend."
Singh then exposed himself and forced the girl to fondle him.
The girl, who was upset, told Singh she had to leave and forced him aside. As she fled, Singh warned her not to tell anyone what happened.
The girl didn't report the crime right away because she was scared and felt like "the incident was her fault because she didn't try hard enough to get away."
On Friday, Seymour Police say they executed a search warrant at the gas station and questioned Singh, who immediately denied the allegations.
Singh told officers that he had been accused of similar crimes in 2012, and as a result, moved out of Seymour in order to "keep away from any potential trouble." He said he recently moved back to Seymour to open the convenience store.
Singh told police he looks at the victim "as a daughter" and "would never do a thing to hurt her," but could not explain why she would make such allegations.
He also told police he he couldn't remember what happened on the night of Sunday, November 27, and -- according to court documents -- gave contradictory statements about his store's closing time, at first stating that the store closes at 10 p.m., then saying later that it closes at 11 or 11:30 p.m.
When questioned about why he would ask the victim to go to the freezer room, Singh allegedly responded that "he always allows customers in the cooler." Police say this is odd, "as most convenience stores do not allow customers in the area behind the drinks stored in the cooler."
According to court documents, police were eventually able to obtain surveillance video from the store on the night in question. Police say it clearly showed Singh enter the freezer room, with the victim behind him. According to police they were in the freezer room for a few minutes, and when the victim emerged, she was rubbing her face with the coat sleeve. Police say her body language was "completely different" and showed that she was "upset."
Singh was arrested on Friday. He's charged with two counts of engaging in sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of criminal confinement. He is currently being held in the Jackson County Detention Center.
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