A 32-year-old Grove man is in custody after James City County Police charged him with rape of a child under age 13, indecent liberties with a child under age 13 and assault and battery of an infant.
William T. Hamlett Jr. was arrested Tuesday, said Maj. Steve Rubino of the James City County Police. The police received a report from Child Protective Services earlier this week that Hamlett had allegedly raped his girlfriend’s daughter. Though the daughter had told her mother of the alleged rape in October, the mother continued to allow her daughter unsupervised time with Hamlett, according to police.
WYDaily is not naming the mother so as to protect the identity of her daughter.
The assault and battery charge stems from Hamlett allegedly choking his six-month-old child. Hamlett and the alleged victim’s mother have four children together in addition to the daughter who was sexually assaulted, though Hamlett is not the biological father of that child, Rubino said.
The mother, who is 25, has been charged with two counts of felony child neglect. One is for not reporting the alleged rape and allowing Hamlett to continue to spend time with her daughter, and the other is for not reporting the alleged choking of their six-month-old child.
Hamlett and the alleged victim’s mother are being held at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail. The five children have been placed in the custody of a family member, Rubino said.
