TEXARKANA, Texas - A 62-year-old Texarkana, Texas, man is accused of sexually abusing four different girls in four separate indictments handed down Thursday morning by a Bowie County grand jury.
Authorities say Timothy Paul Wilder may have abused other girls. Wilder was taken into custody shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday.
All of the victims listed in Wilder's four indictments are reportedly related to him by marriage. Two of the indictments accuse Wilder of the continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years of age. A third indictment alleges continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and indecency with a child by sexual contact. A fourth indictment accuses Wilder of aggravated sexual assault of a child and is punishable by two to 20 years in prison, if convicted.
Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 is punishable in Texas by 25 to 99 years or life in prison, if convicted. There is no parole eligibility from any sentence imposed for the offense.
Aggravated sexual assault of a child is punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison and indecency with a child by sexual contact is punishable by two to 20 years in prison. If convicted of all charged offenses, Wilder could face up to four life sentences plus 20 years.
The dates of alleged misconduct vary in the four indictments. The indictments alleging continuous sexual abuse contain ranges of dates for the abuse, which span multiple years with the earliest beginning in May 2008.
Wilder was arrested in 2017 for aggravated sexual assault of a child but the case was dismissed later that year. One of the indictments for continuous sexual abuse concerns the same alleged victim as that named in a probable cause affidavit in the case for which Wilder was arrested in 2017. That girl was between 6 and 8 years of age when the misconduct allegedly began.
The affidavit in that case alleges Wilder often used his hands to abuse the girl at night when she had gone to bed and was staying at his home. Records in the other cases contain similar allegations and include accounts of Wilder abusing the girls while they were spending time at his home. The records reflect Wilder lives across the street from a local high school.
Officials say they are concerned that Wilder may have abused other girls who have not been identified by law enforcement. Anyone with information about Wilder's alleged misconduct is asked to contact Texarkana, Texas, Detective Tabitha Smith at 903-798-3142.
Bail had not been set for Wilder as of 1 p.m. Thursday.