Last week, the Sparks Police Department arrested a local martial arts professor for lewdness with a child under 14.
84-year-old Herbert LaGue remains in custody after multiple court appearances.
We are not able to get the probable cause documents because they are sealed.
LaGue's bail was originally set at $20,000, but it has since increased to $250,000 with a no-contact order in place regarding minors. He is still in custody at the Washoe County Jail.
LaGue's next court appearance is a mandatory status conference next Tuesday, September 30, at 1:30 p.m.
However, in terms of his relationship with the alleged victim and her dad, it goes back a long way.
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"So, when I was 19 years old, I moved into Bushidokhan Martial Arts Temple, and I have lived on and off at that location," said Jacob Herrick-Sovey, the father of the alleged victim.
Sovey says he has been involved with the temple for 25 years.
LaGue holds the rank of Judan and the title of Shodai, but is referred to as the Professor of the temple.
Sovey says LaGue lives there full-time with other residents as well.
He and the professor at one point shared a close bond.
"On occasion, I had that feeling. There were times where I would refer to him as a parental figure, and he is often seen like a parental figure to many of the students who are in that system," Sovey said.
However, things have changed in the last year.
"Last year, my children and I were in a homeless shelter, and I moved back into 311 Ninth Street, the martial arts temple, to get out of the homeless shelter and reengaged in a social relationship with Herb and all of those individuals there," Sovey said
The alleged incident dates back to June of last year.
"During that time, while I was changing, another resident came in, alerted me that my daughter was in a dark room under a blanket in Herb's room," Sovey said.
Sovey says he told another one of his daughters to go down the hall to call her sister, and then the girl came out of the room. She was six years old at the time.
Sovey says that's when they went out to the car, and the daughter told him what happened.
"It's tough because I was molested as a child," he said. "So, even to talk about what she said to me is, it kind of gets my blood boiling a little bit, you know?"
Sovey says that he and his daughters didn't have a place to go, so they stayed in the house. Plus, an accusation like this is not something he felt comfortable throwing out without proof.
"Saying, hey, I've known this guy for 25 years, he molested my daughter, is not a light accusation, you know what I mean," Sovey said.
On top of this criminal case, Sovey and LaGue are currently also battling a civil case, for an alleged assault dating to last October.
After that incident took place, Sovey and his kids moved in with his brother and have since found an apartment.
More than a year went by without reporting anything until Sovey went to a custody hearing with the girl's mother.
She revealed that the same day the alleged assault happened, LaGue sent a text to her.
2 News Nevada obtained the text message, but we're not including the details due to its graphic content. Sovey said when he saw the text, he felt he had enough to report it.
"That was just solid evidence and more of the reason for both my child's mother and I to actually follow through with calling Sparks Police," he said.
Sparks Detectives spent weeks investigating the situation.
On September 18, they charged LaGue with lewdness of a child under 14.
Since then, the Bushidokan Martial Arts Temple has released a statement on Facebook.
We reached out to the temple both by email and phone call to hear more from their perspective, and we have not heard back.
We also reached out to the Sparks Police Department, and they have not provided any more details.
