Some molestation charges dropped, new ones brought against Babb

By Nate Giarnese

A first set of charges was dropped last week against a man accused three times of child molestation as his defense lawyer scored at least a temporary win by attacking a key formal element in prosecutors' allegations.The two alleged sexual advances on a young boy by Harold Babb, a 57-year-old grandfather accused of abusing a total of three kids, did not support prosecutors' claims of a pattern of abuse, Babb's lawyer, David Bownes, argued.Bownes asked a judge to dismiss the boy's case altogether, claiming the youngster complained of just two creepy altercations coming only a month apart, too few for a pattern. Prosecutors dropped the first of four felonies set for trial, after a judge held Bownes' motion in abeyance.However, in the latest grand jury indictments released Tuesday, Dec. 5, Babb was re-indicted and charged with two more counts of aggravated sexual assault, re-alleging separate assaults on the boy.Meanwhile, he is preparing for other trials.Babb, who allegedly fondled the boy and molested two girls in Tamworth two years ago, also allegedly concocted a jailhouse phone scheme to stifle his victims' testimony. A witness tampering charge is set to be the subject of one remaining trial. Babb is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing in the case of a second alleged victim on Jan. 9.