by Jim Salter, AP
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri man accused of killing his disabled 9-year-old son, who vanished in 2003, was charged Thursday with sex crimes involving girls.
St. Louis County prosecutors charged Dawan Ferguson, 46, with two counts of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sodomy and one count of child molestation. Ferguson is already jailed on the murder charge.
Ferguson was charged Oct. 3 with first-degree murder, 16 years after Christian Ferguson’s disappearance. Christian had a rare disorder that prevented him from processing protein and he couldn’t walk or talk.
The new charges accuse Dawan Ferguson of having had sexual encounters with a girl younger than 17 between 2000 and 2003. He’s accused of having had sex with another girl between 2008 and 2013, causing her to become pregnant. Prosecutors say that victim was younger than 14 when the abuse began.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families and we will continue to aggressively seek justice for them,” prosecutor Wesley Bell said in a statement. “Our attorneys and investigators, along with the St. Louis County Police Department, will remain diligent in their investigation of these vile offenses and will proceed wherever additional findings take them.”
Ferguson’s attorney, public defender Megan Beesley, didn’t immediately respond to phone and email messages. She previously filed a motion to dismiss the murder charges, saying they failed to show how police believe Ferguson killed his son or why they think he did it.
Christian’s disappearance on June 11, 2003, drew national attention. Dawan Ferguson called 911 from a pay phone and told police that a carjacker drove off with his SUV with Christian still inside it. Police found the SUV a short time later, but no sign of the child. Christian’s body was never found.
