ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — In December, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said a man accused of sexually abusing a young girl for years was believed to have more victims. Months later, the man is facing several new charges in another case in St. Louis County.
Editor's note: Some readers may find details of this report disturbing.
Benjamin Sexton Jr. was charged Monday with three counts each of second-degree statutory rape and statutory sodomy and one count of first-degree child endangerment involving drugs.
According to a probable cause statement, Sexton, 47, sexually abused a 14-year-old girl between July 15 and Nov. 23, 2023. Police said Sexton would also make the girl smoke a white powdery substance. She later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Sexton was charged in December with 15 crimes in a separate case, including eight counts of statutory rape or attempted statutory rape and six counts of statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy in connection.
According to charges, the alleged incidents in the first case dated back more than seven years, beginning when the girl was 7 years old, and took place in multiple counties in the St. Louis area.
The probable cause statement said the sheriff's department began an investigation last month after a witness caught the victim trying to meet up with Sexton. During an interview with police, the victim said Sexton often gave her unknown pills and made her smoke drugs from a pipe. She also later tested positive for methamphetamine.
The victim in the case spanning seven years said she saw him sexually assaulting another child. Sexton was also accused of sexual assault by another child in 2015, according to police, who said in December that they believed there could be more victims.
Other victims should call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 636-797-5515. The department's victim services coordinator, Patti Short, can be reached at 636-797-5017 or pshort@jeffcomo.org.
Sexton was taken into custody in December and remains held without bond.