Murphy man arrested for sexual assault

The following press release has been issued by Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.  All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Murphy, NC— Sheriff Derrick Palmer announced the December 01st, 2015 arrest of Timothy Russell Rung, a 40-year-old Murphy, North Carolina man on sexual assault charges. 

On November 29th, 2015 the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a sexual assault of a child. The Sheriff’s Office followed their protocol for such incidents and conducted an investigation which involved the Cherokee County Department of Social Services and HAVEN Child Advocacy Center. During the investigation, Rung was identified as suspect in the reported assault.

Rung was arrested and appeared before the North Carolina Magistrate who set a $300,000.00 secure bond for one count of First Degree Sex Offense with a Child and 3 counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child. Rung is currently being held in the Cherokee County Detention Center pending a December 12th, 2015 District Court date.

Based upon the age of the victim and the sensitive nature of the case, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office will not be releasing any additional information concerning this incident at this time.

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