Elderly woman's rape brings arrest of teen

MALDEN, Mo. -- A teen-ager is in the Dunklin County Jail awaiting formal charges after he allegedly assaulted and raped an elderly Malden woman last week.

Malden Police Chief Rod Dill said a 17-year-old boy was arrested Monday night at a residence in Malden on suspicion of first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and forcible rape.

"I don't want to release his name unless they release it through the prosecuting attorney's office," Dill said. "I don't have formal charges in my hand."

A woman at the prosecuting attorney's office also would not release the suspect's name.

Dill said authorities have "talked to him. We didn't get a motive. He was cooperative."

The teen's arrest stems from an investigation by the Malden Police Department and Dunklin County Sheriff's Department in reference to an assault of an elderly woman in Malden last Thursday, Dill said.

Between the hours of 8:30 and 9 p.m. Thursday, Dill said, the suspect allegedly entered a residence in the 300 block of North Marion Street occupied by an elderly woman who is about 75 years old.

Woman hospitalized

The suspect allegedly "entered through an unlocked door," Dill said. "When you go into someone's house uninvited, that is burglary."

Once inside, the suspect allegedly assaulted the victim causing facial injuries and raped her, Dill said.

After the alleged attack, the victim was taken to Three Rivers Healthcare-North Campus for treatment, but was transferred to Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston because there were "no beds available at that particular time," Dill said. She was released from the hospital on Sunday.