A father from Virginia has been arrested and is facing 152 charges, including 149 counts of incest, over allegedly sexually assaulting his daughter for more than a decade, resulting in the birth of three kids.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Kenneth Ray Cook, is accused of starting the sexual abuse of his daughter in 2012 when she was only nine years old. Court documents showed that the indecent acts continued until the victim was 21 years old.
Father Charged With Sexually Assaulting Daughter
The man was originally charged with sexual abuse, sexual assault, child neglect, and three counts of incent in April. He was later indicted on June 3, based on the testimony of a deputy, and has since been given additional charges, with the most recent dating July 2024.
The children that were born from the sexual assaults were also found suffering from neglect, with one child, who was only a year old at the time, discovered in a neglectful condition in August last year, according to Local12.
Cook has been imprisoned since March and his jail records showed that he has a $500,000 bond. The Raleigh County Sheriff's Office and the suspect's listed attorney, Timothy J. Lafon, did not respond to requests for comments about the case.
Authorities are urging anyone who suspects instances of child abuse to call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline. All of the calls made are toll-free and confidential on top of the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 different languages.
They added that if you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual abuse, you can text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 and you will be connected to a certified crisis counselor, People reported.
Sexual Abuse of Minor
In a similar incident, a 52-year-old man from Singapore was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this year for sexually abusing his daughter over two years, starting from when she was only 12 years old.
The suspect's identity has not been revealed because it would lead to the victim's own identity being made public. The man pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault by penetration. Authorities considered five other charges for sexual offenses during the sentencing.
Because the suspect is older than 50 years old, he cannot be caned, which means his sentence only includes a year's imprisonment in place of the maximum 24 strokes of the cane. During the hearing, the offender, who did not have a lawyer, broke down, audibly sobbing while wiping his face with his prison uniform, as per Channel News Asia.
