Mark Evans, 48, of Worthington, was initially facing serious allegations of child molesting following his arrest in December, but now he’s facing far more serious charges.

In December, Evans was charged with three Level 3 felonies and two Level 4 felonies all involving alleged child molesting. But the investigation continued and with new information, the allegations became more serious.

Since a charge in a pending case cannot simply be changed to a higher level, the original case was dismissed and a new case was filed against Evans.

He has now been charged with two counts of child molesting, both Level 1 felonies, and two counts of child molesting involving fondling or touching a child under the age of 14, both Level 4 felonies.

Under Indiana law, felonies are ranked as Level 1 down through Level 6 with Level 1 being the most serious.

In the original case, his bond was set at $75,000 and in late February, he posted $7,500 cash to bond out.

In the new case, the standard bond amount increased to $110,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

Evans was arrested on the new charges in early April and booked in to the Greene County Jail.

This case has been investigated by Deputy Marshal Russell Walls of the Worthington Police Department, starting in August of 2017.

Walls was dispatched after a call came in from a hospital outside Greene County reporting their concerns about a child they were treating.

Sexual abuse was suspected and thought to have occurred while the child was visiting the home of a family member, Evans, in Worthington during the summer of 2017.

In an affidavit filed in this case, Officer Walls details a series of interviews and several sexual incidents that allegedly occurred. He also reported that Evans failed a polygraph examination asking him questions about the accusations.

As of early Monday, May 21, Evans was still in the Greene County Jail while awaiting trial. The cash bond he posted in the original case was released, but in the current case, it would take ten percent, or $11,000 cash, to make bond and Evans has not bonded out.

Also on Monday, the court scheduled a date for trial by jury in September. Evans is being represented by court-appointed Greene County Public Defender Alan Baughman and the State is represented by Greene County Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh.