37-year-old man charged with statutory rape, child molestation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 37-year-old man from Mexico, Missouri, was charged on Monday with several child sex crimes in Audrain County.

David Eugene Power II was charged with child enticement, four counts of second-degree statutory rape and one count of fourth-degree child molestation. A warrant was served and a hearing was held on Tuesday morning.

The probable cause statement says the youth described multiple assaults to law enforcement that occurred March 13-14.

The child showed law enforcement text messages that allegedly showed Power trying to initiate sexual contact and a person described as a witness told law enforcement that Power admitted to the assaults, the statement says.

Power also allegedly admitted the assaults to law enforcement, the statement says.