Missouri man who raped daughter's friend during sleepover was a registered sex offender who victimized 5-year-old girl in 2005
FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: A Missouri man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly raped his daughter's friend when she had come to his house for a sleepover in June.
James Michael Reed, 44, of Villa Ridge, Missouri, came under the suspicion of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office after they received a report of a rape victim being treated at the emergency room at Mercy Hospital in Washington, according to a press release.
When questioned, the victim told detectives that the rape happened while she had gone to spend the night at a friend's house in Gray Summit on June 30.
She claimed that, in the early hours of the morning, Reed, who was her friend's father, came into the room she was staying in and began to make sexual comments towards her.
She said she became uncomfortable with the comments and told Reed to leave, but that he refused. She said the 44-year-old then proceeded to make sexual advances towards her, and that when she tried to get away, she was restrained in bed.
The victim told detectives that he sexually assaulted her and then left the bedroom, at which point she called her mother to pick her up and take her to the hospital, where she called the police to report the incident.
Investigators with the FCSO subsequently made their way to Reed's residence and found evidence which suggested that he had sexually assaulted the child. They made initial contact with the 44-year-old to take a statement before heading back so they could investigate the case further.
On September 9, an arrest warrant was issued by the FCSO. Reed was arrested at his workplace two days later and charged with rape and sodomy in connection to the incident.
He's currently being held at the Franklin County Jail, with his bond set at $100,000 cash only.
The FCSO revealed in their press release that Reed had already been registered as a sex offender following a 2005 incident involving a five-year-old victim, but stressed regarding this most recent arrest that all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.