NATCHEZ — A 32-year-old Natchez man has been arrested and charged with the statutory rape of a girl who was 14-years-old at the time of the incident, more than a year ago.
Police arrested Tyrone Darius Williams, 32, 201 Lumber St., at approximately 10 p.m. Thursday on a charge of statutory rape for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 14 and 16.
Natchez Police Department Capt. Scott Frye said the instance dates back to Sept. 22, 2016, when the teen’s family reported her missing. That day, Frye said a man picked the girl up off the street after she had run away from home.
The girl reportedly got in the man’s car willingly and was taken to a residence at 23 Beaumont St.
Frye did not know whom the residence belonged to or the identity of the man that drove the girl to the residence. Frye also said the girl had been given both alcohol and drugs, which she reportedly accepted without force, in the days she spent at the home.
When the girl’s father drove to that residence, he found his daughter walking down Beaumont Street and immediately took her to the hospital to have a rape kit performed, Frye said. The girl reportedly told police that she and Williams had sex multiple times in those few days. Frye said whether Williams and the teen knew each other prior to the incident is unclear.
Though Williams has always been a suspect, Frye said police just Monday received results from the test, reportedly returning Williams’ DNA. Police immediately put out a warrant for Williams arrest, and he was taken into custody. As of Friday afternoon, he was being held at the Natchez City Jail with bond pending.
Asked if the yearlong wait for DNA results is typical, Frye said the length depends upon the amount of cases the crime lab has to handle. “It all depends on what the backlog at the (state) crime lab,” Frye said. While Frye said multiple people were at the residence while the crime allegedly occurred, only Williams DNA returned from the test, and police are not pursuing charges against anyone else at this time.