Boot prints in the snow led to Hiawatha man in sexual abuse of 7-year-old girl  

Investigators used boot prints left in the snow to help them identify a Hiawatha man who they believe entered a 7-year-old's bedroom while she was sleeping, held her against her will, and sexually abused her, according to a search warrant filed in Linn County District Court.

Taylor R. Bowles, 19, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, and first-degree sexual abuse. He is accused of breaking into a neighbor's home through a front window Nov. 26, 2014 and sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl. According to a criminal complaint, Bowles didn't let the girl leave. He picked her up and put her back on the bed when she tried to escape.

According to a search warrant affidavit, the 7-year-old told a forensic interviewer at St. Luke's Child Protection Center that the man entered her room, removed her clothes and attacked her. She provided details of the abuse and described the man and what he was wearing.

Officers on Dec. 1, went back to the girl's home and found additional evidence on a door and wall that was sent to the crime lab, according to the affidavit. Bowles became a suspect during the investigation and matched the girl's description of her attacker, an investigator said in the affidavit.

Officers again went back to the girl's home and neighborhood after a fresh snow to look for foot prints Jan. 3, according to the affidavit. Boot prints were discovered in the snow at Bowles' residence and were followed to another neighbor's home by a window and then to the girl's home at the same front window that had been entered Nov. 26. Officers also followed these prints back to Bowles' residence.

According to the affidavit, the other neighbors, where the same boot prints were found, had reported in the last few months that a male was looking in the windows of their home. Officers also reported the screen of that window looked like it had been 'pried on' in an attempt to open it.

The pictures of the prints taken Jan. 3 were compared to those taken the night the girl was attacked, according to the affidavit. Items taken during the search of Bowles' residence included a pair of boots, according to a police property receipt.

Bowles was charged for indecent exposure by Hiawatha Police in 2011, according to the affidavit while he was a juvenile.

If convicted on all charges, Bowles faces life in prison.