Man charged with raping, impregnating teen in Independence

A 36-year-old former Independence man was charged Tuesday with having sex with a 14-year-old girl and fathering a child with her.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Brad A. Dayton, who most recently lived in Illinois, with statutory rape and two counts of statutory sodomy. His bond was set at $100,000.

Independence police began investigating the case in 2011 when the victim’s mother reported the alleged sexual contact that had occurred multiple times beginning in 2009 when the girl was in 8th grade, according to court documents.

The girl was pregnant at the time the report was made and later delivered the baby, according to the documents.

Police dropped the investigation after the girl and her mother moved out of the area and quit cooperating.

But earlier this year, the victim, now an adult, returned to Independence and told police she wanted to pursue charges against Dayton.

According to the documents, detectives interviewed a witness in Illinois who said Dayton admitted to her that he had sex with the Independence victim with the intention of getting her pregnant.

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Man charged with raping, impregnating teen in Independence."