Statutory rape suspect turns self in
Experts say this type of crime is underreported.
Published Oct. 22, 2010
A man wanted for statutory rape turned himself in to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, ending a one-month search for the suspect.
William J. Strickland is accused of first-degree statutory rape, according to news releases from the department. The suspect was reported to have had sexual intercourse with the victim three times during the summer at locations in rural Boone County. The victim, 12, discovered she was pregnant, according to one of the releases.
Boone County Sheriff’s Department Detective Tom O’Sullivan said it is not uncommon for the department to work with cases where the victim is this young or even younger.
“We’ve had victims that were babies,” O’Sullivan said. “Any case we’ve worked with, we’ve had a victim that age.”
The crime was reported to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department in July, and evidence was gathered until sufficient probable cause was found to indict Strickland. The department began its search about a month before Strickland’s arrest. O’Sullivan said the department believed Strickland was evading them.
The department sent out a news release to local news outlets regarding Strickland on Monday, and the suspect turned himself in at about 8 p.m., O’Sullivan said. He was released about one hour later on a $50,000 bond.
“The efforts of the media was very helpful to us, and he had people telling him, ‘Get a bondsman, turn yourself in, stop evading them,’ and that certainly factored into his decision,” O’Sullivan said.
First-degree statutory rape, defined as sexual intercourse with a person less than 14 years of age, is a felony and is punishable by a prison sentence anywhere from five years to life.
Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Haden said college students are not likely to be victims of statutory rape, since the age of consent is 17.
Sexual assault in general is common around college campuses, said Barbara Hodges, executive director for True North, an emergency shelter based in Columbia that provides support for adult victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
The most common victims of sexual assault are 18- to 25-year-old women, Hodges said. He added that drinking, though not the cause of sexual violence, makes women more vulnerable and potential perpetrators more likely to commit crimes.
“Young people are much more often the victims of sexual assault,” Hodges said.
Acts of sexual violence also commonly go unreported, Hodges said, due to a lack of witnesses or other evidence and difficulty in prosecuting the crime. Haden said statutory rape often goes underreported as well.
“My belief is that statutory rape is highly under-reported, just as are other sex offenses,” Haden said. “Given that it is a statutory crime and neither force nor forcible compulsion are required, it is probably even more under-reported.”
Strickland is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in District 9.