Lewes man pleads guilty to fourth-degree rape
A 57-year-old Lewes man has pleaded guilty to charges of fourth-degree rape and fourth-degree unlawful sexual contact.
Timothy Delp pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 10, and will serve one year of home confinement followed by 10 years of intensive probation for the rape charges and eight years of probation on the unlawful sexual contact charges. He must also attend sex offender counseling and is subject to a no-contact order with the victim.
Delp was arrested in September 2019 for allegedly molesting a 6-year-old girl who was a relative of his friend, and continuing molesting her when she turned 7. Beginning in February 2019, court records state, there were repeated incidents that happened at the relative's home where Delp also lived.
The girl alerted her mother to what were described in court documents as explicit sexual acts, and the Child Advocacy Center was contacted. There, the girl gave details on several incidents that took place in summer 2019.
Police originally charged Delp with first-degree sexual abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust, authority or supervision; second-degree rape; continuous sexual abuse of a child; two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual contact; and endangering the welfare of a child. His case came to a halt after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down criminal trials in Delaware for more than a year. He had been scheduled to go to trial Monday, Sept. 27.
