Former Wichita Falls man faces 9 indictments for alleged crimes against 2 sisters

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A former Wichita Falls man now has a $1.6 million bond after a grand jury filed nine separate indictments alleging sex crimes against two girls from 2009 to 2014.

Milburn Joe Bates, now of Abilene, remains jailed on bond. When he was jailed in March 2024, he faced five charges.

The victims, two sisters, came forward with the allegations last year.

During her forensic interview, the younger sister said she was unaware of similar alleged acts committed by Bates and reported by her sister. One victim reported that Bates' molestation and indecent acts began when he was 6 years old.

The first victim told police it started in 2008, when she was living in a home in Wichita Falls.

The following month, the victim's mother reported allegations to Iowa Park police that her daughters had been sexually assaulted while living in Iowa Park.

Around the same time, Child Protective Services was contacted by a teacher who said she overheard a student talking about sexual assault.

One victim told Wichita Falls police that she told her mother about the abuse, but because she was an adult when she told her, it was up to her to decide what to do.

Besides sexual abuse, another allegation involved Bates taking photos of a victim with his cell phone while he thought the victim was sleeping.

When interviewed by Wichita Falls police, investigators said Bates confirmed details of the girls' memories of certain events other than the sexual acts.

When questioned about these alleged acts, they said Bates said: “I don't remember” or “I don't remember” or gave misleading answers and was “99.9% sure” that he did not hadn't done what they accused him of doing.

Asked about the allegation that he took photos, they said he admitted to using his cellphone light in the victim's bedroom to look around when he heard a noise.

When asked about a specific type of sexual abuse committed by a victim, police said she responded with words like, “I'm not going to say I didn't do it.” I don't remember it because I'm a pretty heavy sleeper.

When asked about acts that allegedly took place at two Iowa Park homes, they said he responded, “Personally, I don't remember anything like that happening.” »

Following the filing of the indictments, the State filed notice that it was ready to proceed to trial and requested that the case be placed on the next available docket.