Charges against stabbed girl’s father grow

John Rollins Tuggle, a registered sex offender charged with the attempted murder of his own daughter, is facing additional charges in connection with the July 20 attack on the 12-year-old girl.

The Shoshone County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday filed felony charges of rape, first-degree kidnapping, and lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor. Tuggle is also being charged with using a deadly weapon to commit those crimes.

Authorities say Tuggle took the girl to a remote area of North Idaho after telling his ex-wife he was taking their daughter to the mall. Tuggle had been living in Colorado since his release from prison in 2004, but authorities say he stayed with his ex-wife in at her home in Athol in the days prior to the attack on his daughter.

According to testimony from a sheriff’s deputy Friday, Tuggle allegedly tied up his daughter, telling her he wanted to show her how to tie up her younger brother. The deputy testified that Tuggle then pulled her to a meadow, held a knife to her cheek and raped her. The deputy said the girl told authorities that her father stabbed her five times.

Tuggle was read the new charges during his first appearance in Shoshone County Court in Wallace on Friday. A public defender was appointed to represent the 37-year-old defendant and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 17.

Meanwhile, Tuggle remains in Shoshone County Jail with bail set at $10 million. He waived a preliminary hearing on the attempted murder charge that had been scheduled this week .

About a week before the attack, Tuggle’s brother said he left his home in Colorado and headed to Athol to see his ex-wife and children. Tuggle hadn’t seen his children for 10 years, since he was sent to prison for raping his 13-year-old sister-in-law.

The girl became pregnant as a result of the attack.

Tuggle had been staying with his ex-wife and children at their Athol home for nearly five days prior to the attack, Sheriff Chuck Reynalds said. On July 20, Tuggle told the girl’s mother he was taking her to the mall, but instead he took her to the woods north of Prichard, authorities said.

Campers heard the girl’s cries for help and discovered her in the brush off the side of a Forest Service road. She told authorities she spent four to five hours bleeding and alone before she was rescued.

That night, law enforcement launched a search for her father. Tuggle was on the run for a week before he wandered into Wallace and was recognized by a convenience store clerk.

According to court records from Kootenai County, Tuggle was mailed notice on July 8 – about a week before he left for Idaho – that his ex-wife was seeking additional child support.

The 12-year-old victim was released from Sacred Heart Medical Center last weekend and is in the custody of her mother.