A man is in Polk County Jail after allegedly being inappropriate with and assaulting young girls in Humansville.
The following are the charges against Daniel Perry Witham that can be found online:
- abuse or neglect of a child
- two counts of third-degree kidnapping
- fourth-degree assault
According to a probable cause statement from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), on Oct. 13, officers were called to two calls about Witham.
The first call came in around 7 p.m., and officers talked to a teenage girl who said that she and her friend, who was also a teenager, were walking down West Tilden Street when Witham stopped them and asked to talk about Jesus Christ.
Police were told by the girl that Witham was “preaching” to them, saying things like “you look like a virgin.” I hope so. “So am I.” As the girl and her friend got antsy, they went across the street and found an adult.
Records show that Witham grabbed the girl by the arm as she tried to run away and did not listen to her when she begged him to let her go. The girl told the officers that she was able to free herself from Witham’s hold in the end.
When the police tried to get in touch with Witham, he said he was “just telling all of his neighbors about the gospel.”
Documents show that a second call about Witham was made around 8:20 p.m.
At the Humansville Dollar General, a woman who was trying to do some shopping said that Witham grabbed her and told her he wanted to talk about Jesus Christ. He grabbed the woman by the arm when she told him to “get away from her.”
According to the court papers, the woman screamed several times and told him to leave. A lot of people in the shop were interested in what was going on, and Witham left when management told him to.
There are also “multiple complaints about [Witham] being inappropriate with female juveniles” in the probable cause statement.
it seemed like he did not feel bad about what he did or care about the consequences of it. According to the records, Witham was also found guilty of first-degree attack in April 2024.
Witham is being held in Polk County Jail on a $15,000 bond right now.