Camdenton Man Charged After Allegedly Raping 18-Year-Old

CAMDENTON, Mo. — A Camdenton man is facing two felony charges for allegedly raping an 18-year-old early Saturday. Police spent about three hours searching for the man on Saturday morning before finding and arresting him.

According to the Camden County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded to a call at around 7 a.m., in the 200 block of Bumper Hill Road, on the report of a sexual assault. The 18-year-old female victim said the suspect, later identified as 24-year-old James Robert Kelly, had come into the bedroom where she was sleeping at around 4 a.m. and sexually assaulted her, threatening her not to tell anyone.

But when deputies arrived, a witness told them Kelly had fled into the woods to escape law enforcement. The department deployed its bloodhound, K9 Deputy Nutmeg, to aid in the search, which took deputies along US Highway 54 into Camdenton, where the dog was called off due to heavy weekend traffic.

Deputies kept searching on foot and by vehicle until Kelly was located at around 10 a.m., in the 400 block of West US Highway 54.

He was taken into custody and charged with one count of Felony First Degree Rape, and one count of Felony First Degree Sodomy. He is being held at the Camden County Adult Detention Facility without bond, and is set to appear before the court on July 19.