Five Warren County teens charged with raping 13-year-old

(Update: On August 8, charges against Kyler Morgan were dropped and his criminal record was expunged.)

Five teenagers from Warren County have been charged with sexual abuse, WLBT reports. The five are alleged to have raped a 13-year-old girl last year.

The Warren County grand jury returned the indictment at its October meeting. Kyler Morgan, 19, is charged with rape of a victim under the age of 14. Jeff Dominic Howard Moore, 18; Peyton Taylor Davidson, 18; Landon Austin Pettway, 18; and William Alexander Fischer, 19, are each charged with rape and sexual assault of a victim under the age of 14.

According to District Attorney Ricky Smith, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation a year ago. During the investigation, they learned of a 13-year-old who secretly came out of her house in the evening and had sex with the five then 17- to 18-year-olds.

Although the interactions were consensual, she was not permitted to give consent under Mississippi law, which states that a person under the age of 16 is not competent to give consent.

Smith told WLBT, “If the person they were having sexual relations with was more than 24 months older than them, then that would be a crime of rape of a minor. Even if the victim was participating willingly.” Smith added, “It doesn’t matter if you have a 13-year-old, if she comes into the room naked and says, ‘Here I am,’ if you’re 24 months older than her or he, it could be a he, then that’s a crime that you can go to prison for the rest of your life.”

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