Sikeston man faces rape, sexual assault charges

BENTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston, Mo., man is being held on charges of raping and sexually assaulting a child over several years.

Antonio Rodriguez, 63, is charged with five counts of forcible rape, 15 counts of statutory rape, 10 counts of statutory sodomy, five counts of child molestation and two counts of sexual assault, according to Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd.

According to a probable-cause affidavit, the victim reported the assaults, which occurred over the past seven years, to her minister. The minister and the victim then informed her mother and the police.

The victim told Detective John A. Blakely of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety that Rodriguez began assaulting her when she was about 10 or 11 years old.

Recently, the alleged victim, now a teenager, discovered she was pregnant.

"[She] believes that is when the baby was conceived. She said she has not had sex with anyone else but Mr. Rodriguez," Blakely stated.

During an interview at the Beacon Health Center in Benton, which specializes in forensic interviews related to child and adult abuse cases, the victim described the assaults and explained she never told anyone for fear of upsetting Rodriguez's wife.

Blakely said in the probable cause statement that Rodriguez agreed to talk with him but when a DNA sample was requested to determine paternity, Rodriguez refused and asked for an attorney.

Rodriguez was being held in the Scott County Jail with bond set at $75,000.

Pertinent address:

Sikeston, Mo.