Fugitive molester dad convicted in 2001 in absentia found in Germany (Tucson, Arizona)

Apppears dad FRANK KARL HERTEL will finally be brought to justice for his crimes against his daughter. It is beyond appalling that he was able to get away with this for so long--especially with the more or less tacit approval of the authorities. Was there a mother in this home? None is mentioned.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT

 http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/daughter-s-long-search-finds-abuser-dad/article_3a588fb3-9d8e-5bf5-968e-62ef02699c5f.html

Fugitive was convicted in '01 in absentia; he was found in Germany
Daughter's long search finds abuser-dad
Veronica M. Cruz

Arizona Daily Star Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Monday, October 31, 2011 12:00 am

A man convicted of molesting his daughter in Tucson was arrested in Germany after 11 years on the run - largely because of his daughter's determination to track him down.

Frank Karl Hertel, 49, fled the country in August of 2000 during jury deliberations in his trial, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release. A warrant for his arrest was issued by Pima County Superior Court.

Hertel was tried in absentia in 2001 and found guilty of sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 15.

He faces 13 to 27 years in prison when he is brought back to Arizona, a representative from the Pima County Attorney's Office said.

Hertel also faces charges of strong-arm rape in Ohio for several sexual encounters with a minor, the release said.

Hertel's daughter said she was molested for 15 years, from the time she was 3 years old until she was 18, court records show.

Heather Orr, now 29, said the abuse started when the family lived in Ohio and continued when they moved to Tucson.

Orr, who now lives out of state, has spent the last several years trying to track down her father, whose family has ties to Germany.

In 2009 she found a story online about her grandfather, who had been arrested for tax evasion, and left a note in the story's comment section asking if anybody knew relatives of her grandfather in Germany.

One man wrote back to say the man had a son who was living with his American wife and child. Orr found that Hertel was operating a bar in Germany.

She compared photos found on the business's website with photos of her father that her brother had sent to her.

She contacted the U.S. marshal on the case, but said there was no progress for several months. Then a new marshal was assigned to the case and acted on the information Orr had provided.

Hertel was arrested on Oct. 21 in the city of Useriner-Muehle, where he had assumed the identity of his brother and was managing the Mustang Bar, the release from the U.S. Marshals said.

The arrest has been a long time coming for Orr, who says she's been let down by authorities several times.

She first reported her sexual abuse in 1991 when she was in the eighth grade and the family was living in Ohio, she said.

She told a friend her dad had molested her, records show. The friend's parents reported the incident to the Department of Child Services and the allegations were investigated by a social worker, who determined that Hertel had molested his daughter when she was in the second grade.

The agency "did a case on me and they sent it to the prosecutor's office and they said sexual abuse was indicated, and they did nothing," Orr said.

Six months later, the Hertel family moved to Tucson.

When Orr was 18, she and Hertel went to a therapy session where he admitted to molesting her.

Hertel told the therapist that it was a "sexual lesson for his daughter on how men behave," court records show.

The therapist reported the sexual abuse to Child Protective Services, court records show.

Orr then reported the abuse to the Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Sheriff's Department and taped a phone conversation with her father in which he admitted to the abuse.

She turned the tape over to the Sheriff's Department, court records show.

Hertel confessed to authorities and was charged with sexual abuse. He fled the country after posting bond during his trial.

Orr is writing a book about her experience and says her determination to bring her father to justice stems from a desire to protect others from sexual abuse.

"No child deserves to have to go through what I did and also be let down time and time again," she said