Former Phelps County deputy indicted on child porn charge, charged with rape

ROLLA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former Phelps County deputy who was arrested last month for allegedly possessing child pornography has been indicted by a grand jury on Thursday.

Justin Bradley Durham, 41, was charged with possession of child pornography. He is being held on a $500,000 bond at the Phelps County Jail. An arraignment is set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26.

Durham was also charged on Aug. 28 with first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy for an alleged rape that occurred in 2014, according to court documents. The arraignment for those charges will be held the same time as the child pornography charge.

According to a probable cause statement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a trooper talked with an alleged victim on Aug. 22. She allegedly told troopers that she was raped by Justin Durham.

The statement says the victim did not know her biological father and learned that Durham was related to him. During the interview, the victim allegedly told law enforcement that at the time, she was in an abusive relationship and homeless. Durham allegedly told her that if she needed anything, she could contact him.

The statement describes the victim as being hungry and needing money, and contacted Durham. He allegedly responded with something similar to “What are you going to do for me in return?” and had requested inappropriate photos, the statement says. The probable cause statement does not list the victim’s age at the time.

Durham at one point allegedly told the victim he was going to tell his wife she would babysit for them, according to the statement. The victim told law enforcement it “became obvious I wasn’t babysitting,” when she arrived to the residence.

Durham then allegedly raped the victim, according to the probable cause statement. After the alleged assault, Durham gave the victim money and she shut off all contact with him since the incident, the probable cause statement says.