Edgecombe County man charged with statutory rape

TARBORO, North Carolina (WTVD) -- An Edgecombe County man was charged with statutory rape in connection with a sexual relationship with a minor, the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

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The Sheriff's Office said it was contacted October 10 by Vidant Edgecombe Hospital in reference to a 15-year-old female and her mother, who were in the ER saying that the teen had been forcibly raped.

According to the victim, the incident happened October 1 at her home. She told police she knew the suspect.

After an investigation, deputies arrested Jonathan Thomas Reese, 24, of the 100 block of Fancy Lane in Pinetops.

Deputies said Reese and the victim began a relationship after Reese was employed by the juvenile's parents a week earlier.

Reese and the victim engaged in consensual sex and communicated with one another heavily for over a week, the sheriff's office said.

Reese was jailed on $5,000 secured bond.