Man charged with rape in Cole County; father of victim accused of moving suspect into his home from Florida
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Two men have been charged with child sex crimes in Cole County.
Travis Kalchbrenner, 31, was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, two counts of statutory rape, one count of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of fourth-degree child molestation. He is being held at the Cole County Jail without bond.
An arraignment was held on Monday and Kalchbrenner pleaded not guilty. A counsel status hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Frederick Copping, 47, was charged with child abuse, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, first-degree accessory to rape, first-degree accessory to sodomy, two counts of second-degree accessory to statutory rape, one count of first-degree accessory to sexual abuse and fourth-degree accessory to child molestation.
He is also being held at the Cole County Jail without bond. An arraignment was held on Monday and Copping appeared by video from the jail. He pleaded not guilty. A counsel status hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday. A preliminary hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1.
According to the probable cause statement, deputies were called to a Russellville residence on Friday for a possible domestic incident. A drunk girl allegedly stated that she was 22 years old to deputies, but law enforcement quickly learned that she was 15. She claimed to live in the home with her “boyfriend” and father.
Kalchbrenner allegedly referred to the child as his “girlfriend” and told law enforcement that he believed that she was 22, the statement says. Kalchbrenner told law enforcement that he met the girl online “three or four years ago” and “reconnected” within the past year while he lived in Florida, the statement says.
Kalchbrenner claimed that he spoke with the victim in a video chat using the messaging application Discord and also spoke with the girl’s father regularly before moving to Missouri, the statement says.
Copping -- the girl's father -- allegedly admitted to driving to Florida with the girl to bring Kalchbrenner back to his home so he could live with them, the statement says.
Court documents say Kalchbrenner admitted to the assaults.
Copping allegedly told law enforcement that he thought Kalchbrenner was in his mid-20s, the statement says. He also allegedly admitted to giving Kalchbrenner condoms, according to court documents.
Copping told law enforcement that he decided to bring Kalchbrenner from Florida because “he seemed like a nice guy,” court documents say.
