Eugene Rose

The Tyrone Township father who admitted to police that he made up the story about someone attempting to abduct his child, has been charged under a new law that went into effect in July. The law makes it a crime to lie to police in a criminal investigation.

Eugene Rose, 32, was charged with lying to a peace officer on a 4-year or more crime investigation.

The original story was that the father was working in his garage on September 4, when he noticed a man walking away holding the hand of his 2-year-old son, who had been playing in the front yard. The father yelled at the man, who continued walking, and the father then ran after the man and got his son back after a confrontation. He didn’t report the incident to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department until September 7. On September 18, the father admitted to police that it didn’t really happen.

Rose turned himself in to police on Tuesday, September 24, and bonded out on a $500 cash/surety bond the same day. His arraignment is scheduled in 63rd District Court on Wednesday, October 3 at 8:30 a.m.

According to Lt. Ron Gates, with the Kent County Sheriff Department, they heard about the attempted abduction through other sources, and when they contacted Rose about it, he stuck to his story. “We later caught him in lies and inconsistencies, and eventually he admitted making it up,” explained Gates.

He said the man has given police various stories on why he made it up, so they are not sure what the true motive was.

The new law, Public Act 104 (HB5050), makes it a crime to “knowingly and willfully conceal from the peace officer any material fact relating to the criminal investigation” or to “make any statement to the peace officer that the person knows is false or misleading regarding a material fact in that criminal investigation.”

Penalties vary depending on what type of crime is being investigated. According to Gates, an attempted abduction is a 20-year felony. The new law says, “If the crime being investigated is a felony punishable by imprisonment for 4 years or more, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.”

Gates said the new law fits this circumstance. “A report like this creates a certain panic in the community. We take them seriously and try to get the bottom of it. Often, people don’t realize how their actions affect others,” he said.