Sex Assault Lands Man in Prison

A man was sentenced to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl outside of a Family Literacy Center in Carthage, Missouri.

Police say that the man was hanging around outside the Literacy Center when he was no longer attending classes there. He spotted the 17-year-old girl who was leaving after she had finished class. According to police reports, he forced her to have sex with him in broad daylight by telling her that he had a friend with a gun who would shoot her if she did not comply.

William J. Reed was initially charged with forcible rape. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual assault in a plea agreement limiting the prison time he might have been required to serve.

The victim of the assault told police that Reed grabbed her, threw her on the ground, and pulled her pants off. Reed acknowledges that the victim did say “no” and that the law may very well see what he had done as rape. Although, Reed never admitted that he penetrated the girl, he did admit to exposing himself to her.

In the state of Missouri, forcible rape carries five years to life in prison. Sexual assault is punishable by one to seven years in prison or up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. The difference is use of force or threat to commit the crime.

Reed’s attorney argued that he had both oral and taped statements to the police that needed to be excluded from the record. Reed’s attorney said that a portion of the tape was made before his request to speak to a lawyer. The judge involved in the case overruled the motion to suppress.