Police: 5 charged in recorded sexual assault on boy
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Police in Kentucky have charged five people in connection with a sexual assault that left a 15-year-old Hopkinsville, Ky., boy seriously injured over the weekend.
The attack was recorded on video and shared among cellphones, authorities said.
Louisville police arrested Sam Miller, 18, of Hopkinsville on Wednesday and charged him with sodomy, first degree; promoting a minor in a sex performance; use of a minor in a sex performance; distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor
Miller's bond is set at $1 million.
Two men and two teenage boys were arrested earlier this week in the violent sexual assault of the boy.
The victim was in intensive care Thursday at Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, Tenn. The boy's condition has improved since the attack at a home in Hopkinsville early Sunday left him with life-threatening injuries, Christian County sheriff's Capt. Chris Miller said.
Police have not released a possible motive or many details about what happened. The victim knew his attackers, and all are from the Hopkinsville area.
"We haven't uncovered any kind of premeditated plans," Miller said.
Investigators weren't sure whether the video was posted to any websites. Authorities are still interviewing people and more arrests are possible, Miller said.
The Christian County Sheriff's Office is withholding specifics, but initial information is that three of those arrested engaged in the assault, videotaped the incident and distributed the video, Miller said.
The fourth subject is charged with possessing video of the assault.
Authorities didn't become aware of the assault until after the boy had been taken to Gateway in Clarksville, Miller said. The sheriff's office wouldn't say who took him there. Hopkinsville is about a half-hour drive from Clarksville.
The following have been taken into custody in connection with the assault:
• Tyler Riess Perry, 19, of Hopkinsville, charged first-degree sodomy, tampering with physical evidence, promoting a sexual performance by a minor, use of a minor in a sexual performance. He was held on $100,000 bond.
• Dayton Ross Jones, 20, of Hopkinsville, charged with first-degree sodomy, promoting a sexual performance by a minor, use of a minor in a sexual performance, distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor. He was held on $1 million bond.
• A 17-year-old Hopkinsville male whose name was withheld, charged first-degree sodomy, tampering with physical evidence.
• A 17-year-old Hopkinsville male whose name was withheld, charged with possession/viewing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor.
Perry and Jones were taken into custody without incident and were being held in the Christian County Jail. The juveniles charged were taken to the Christian County Designated Workers Office for processing.
Jones is a junior at Arkansas State University, where he was a member of the school's golf team. He was dismissed from the team pending the outcome of the charges against him, said Jerry Scott, a school spokesman.
Contributing: The Associated Press