N.C. Man Charged With Rape Of 7-Year-Old

IREDELL COUNTY, NC -- An Iredell County man was charged with the rape of a 7-year-old girl over the weekend, county investigators say.

Brently Jason Byers, 28, was arrested and had bond set at $1 million on charges of statutory rape of a child by an adult. The girl remains in a hospital in Winston-Salem with "extensive injuries," related to the rape, officials said.

The mother of the girl left the Olin home Friday morning around 7 a.m. to go to work, the Charlotte Observer reported, and returned Saturday around 1 p.m.

When the mother came home, "she found the victim sitting in chair in the living room with blood on her and the suspect was on the couch asleep,” said Sheriff Darren Campbell in a press release, the Observer reported. The young girl believed the suspect to be her father.

Investigators said that another family member had come to pick up two of the four children at the home at some point late on Friday. "Indications were that the crime occurred during the night when only two small children and the suspect were in the home," they said, according to the Observer.

Police found clothing in the washing machine, officials said. WNCN reported that more charges are likely in this case.

Article image Iredell County Sheriff's Office