By Jean Cole
Saying she was repeatedly raped and then silenced with threats and cash, a 14-year-old girl has accused a 55-year-old Elkmont man of the crime.
Deciding to break her months-long silence, the unnamed victim recently told an individual “that something had happened to her over the summer,” said Limestone County Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt.
Investigator Leslie Ramsey interviewed the girl and learned the alleged offender had forcible sex on three different occasions during July and August in Limestone County, McNatt said.
“Each time, the offender would tell the victim not to tell and that if she did she would also be in trouble,” McNatt said. “The victim was also given money and told again that she would be in trouble if she reported it.”
During the course of the investigation, Ramsey found several photographs of the offender exposing himself, McNatt said.
On Wednesday, Ramsey charged Austin Nichols Jr., 55, of 26821 Clem Road with three counts of first-degree rape.
Nichols remained in the Limestone County Jail Wednesday in lieu of posting a $300,000 bail bond — $100,000 for each count of felony rape.
The investigation will continue, McNatt said.
