DEARBORN, Mo. — A father and son from Dearborn, Mo., are out on bond after they were charged last week with having sex with the same child.
Anthony Paden, 25, and his father, Darren Paden, 50, were released after their $150,000 cash bonds were posted by two different people.
Both Padens are charged with Statutory Sodomy in the 1st degree and Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a person less than 14 years old.
According to court documents, the victim says the abuse began in 2001 when she was 5 years old. She told police that she watched pornographic movies at the elder Paden’s home and was forced to perform sex acts.
The girl says the abuse continued for about eight more years. Then when she was in the 7th grade, she says a school resource officer discussed the topic of sexual abuse and she said she realized then that she was a victim.
Angie Blumel of the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) says that victims are often afraid to come forward.
“Perps use their power or influence or relationship with a child to gain their trust and conduct these criminal acts and this is an example, a very unfortunate example of that happening to a very young victim,” said Blumel. “”We talk with children about fire safety, or stranger danger but yet we don’t arm them with information about sexual abuse, and the fact that perps might be known to them. So we need to start at a young age and continue that through a child’s lifetime.”
According to the probable cause statement, the victim said that Anthony Paden knew about his father’s abuse of her and began forcing her to perform sex acts when he babysat her.
The father and son are scheduled to be back in court on Feb. 15th.
