Molestation charges added to man jailed for '07 robbery

Police didn't have to wait five years to arrest Sean C. Williams this time.

The 32-year-old St. Louis man was taken into custody in October on charges of first-degree robbery, despite the fact that the crime took place in a small, Cape Girardeau apartment five years before. A judge signed a warrant Wednesday on new charges accusing him of sexually abusing a 13-year-old Cape Girardeau girl last month.

Williams, who already faces life in prison for the robbery charges, has a two-day trial set to begin Jan. 29 before Judge Benjamin Lewis.

Police believe Williams was one of three men who robbed occupants of an apartment on Pind Wood Lane on Halloween night in 2007. According to a probable-cause statement drafted by Cape Girardeau detective Jim Smith, the victims -- a father and adult son -- were home with a family friend and his female friend when three men forced their way inside. One of the men was carrying a sawed-off shotgun, Smith said.

The intruders punched and struck two of the men before demanding they empty their pockets of valuables. A resident also was hit as he exited the bathroom.

The man with the shotgun guarded the victims while the other two men looted the house, Smith said. Several items were placed into a red pillow case taken from the victim's bed, including cellphones, video games, electronics, prescription medications and about $6 in loose change, the report says.

As the men left, one ripped the telephone from the wall and threatened to shoot anyone who looked out the window or called police. One of the victims called police anyway.

Police wouldn't make an arrest for five years. But two of the victims -- the female friend and the adult son -- later told police that they recalled that a man who frequented the Pind Wood apartment had been there just moments before the robbery. Both told police -- her in 2002 and him late last year -- the visitor had a brother named Sean. One of the robbers, they said, was called Sean by his cohorts, each said.

The woman noticed during the robbery that Sean had problems moving one of his hands, believing that it might have been deformed. Sean Williams had sustained a gunshot wound to one of his arms.

The woman said it was interesting to her that Sean's brother stopped his visits after the robbery. Williams was interviewed in Perry County in 2007, where he was held for parole absconding. He said he had not been to Cape Girardeau in years.

Last October, Smith interviewed the adult son who was a victim of the home invasion. The man said he had failed to provide some details after the robbery. He also mentioned Williams' brother coming to his home before the robbery and asking to borrow money or for someone to sell him some marijuana.

Smith said the victim immediately selected Williams from a photo lineup. The victim identified Williams in person as well, the statement said.

Though Williams repeatedly denied involvement in the robbery, he was arrested and charged.

While he was in jail, the mother of a 13-year-old girl brought her daughter to the Cape Girardeau Police Department to report that Williams, a family friend, had sexual contact with the girl three times, according to a separate statement by Darren Estes, a department detective.

Two incidents, the girl told her mother, had been in St. Louis. But one, she said, took place at her grandmother's home in Cape Girardeau.

Prosecutors and police declined to be interviewed or did not return phone calls for this story, as did Williams' lawyer, public defender Chris Heeb.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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