Perryville man charged with molesting girl, 12

A Perryville, Missouri, man has been charged with having sex with a 12-year-old girl.

Nolan Cantu, 21, faces four counts of first-degree statutory rape, nine counts of first-degree statutory sodomy and one count of child molestation, all felonies.

Perryville police responded to a report of domestic assualt at an apartment Monday.

When they arrived, the caller told officers she had been assaulted by the 12-year-old girl and her boyfriend, Cantu, had been having sexual relations with the girl, according to a probable-cause statement by detective Teresa Cox of the Perryville Police Department.

The girl was taken by officers to the police department and interviewed. The girl told police on several occasions between Jan. 1 and Monday, she and Cantu had participated in sexual intercourse, oral sex and fondling, according to the statement.

During the interview, Cantu was found and taken into custody and questioned, according to the statement. Cantu told police he'd "attempted" to have sex with the girl three times, though the first two times they had to stop after only one or two penetrations. He said the girl had performed oral sex on him about eight times between Jan. 1 and Monday; he also reported one instance of anal sex, according to the statement.

Cantu's bond has been set at $10,000 cash only.

The statutory rape and sodomy charges each carry a range of punishment from five years to life in prison. The punishment on the molestation charge is five to 15 years, with no fine allowed, court records show.

Pertinent address:

Progress Drive, Perryville, MO