West Plains, MO. – A local man has received multiple felony charges on allegations of raping one child and attempting to entice another child.
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Benjamin N. Boucher, age 39, is charged with three counts of statutory rape, three counts of statutory sodomy, and one count of enticement or attempted enticement of a child. He was arrested by the West Plains Police Department.
According to the probable cause statement, on December 17, 2023, a minor female, Victim 1, reported that Boucher had made sexual advances towards her at the age of 13 in 2020. The child was interviewed by the Child Advocacy Center, where she disclosed her father, Boucher, had “asked me to do it with him in exchange for golden cookies”.
During this interview, another female teen, Victim 2, came forward, identifying Boucher as her stepfather, and accused him of raping her between the ages of 9 and 15 beginning in 2013. Victim 2 told the interviewers the incidents began while living in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and continued when their family moved to West Plains. Victim 2 accused Boucher of having sex with her while her mother worked overnights. She also accused Boucher of punishing her if she refused to have sex with him.
Following Boucher’s arrest, the accused denied the allegations, saying the children’s mother/stepmother had put them up to make them. Boucher has pled not guilty to the charges and is being held in police custody on a $50,000 cash or corporate surety bond.
