Sugarcreek man charged with rape

A Sugarcreek man with ties to the Amish church was indicted by the Holmes County grand jury with rape.Noah J. Troyer, 81, of 5525 Evans Creek Road SW, is charged in Holmes County Common Pleas Court with two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition.According to the indictment, the charges stem from a period between 2003 and 2005. Troyer allegedly engaged in sexual conduct with two girls, whose ages would have been between 8 and 10 at the time.The rape charges carry a penalty of life in prison. The gross sexual imposition charges carry a mandatory minimum of 12 months in prison and up to five years in prison.Troyer is an Amish bishop, Holmes County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Knowling said.The alleged victims are family of Troyer and his role as a bishop had nothing to do with the alleged sexual conduct, Knowling said.“It’s a situation where he was related to them and had access to them, that was how he was able to do what he did,” Knowling said.Knowling said the alleged rape was reported anonymously. The alleged sexual conduct occurred “more than once,” Knowling said, and the victims have not “been able to recall specific times or dates, that’s why the” time period on the indictment is so broad.Troyer is out on a $25,000 bond.