Sacramento sheriff’s detectives arrest man accused in sexual abuse of 3 children
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- Sacramento County sheriff’s detectives on Tuesday arrested Melvin Lee Rutherford.
- Rutherford is accused of sexually abusing three children in his family.
- Rutherford on Friday afternoon remained in custody at the Sacramento County Jail.
Sacramento County sheriff’s detectives on Tuesday arrested a 32-year-old man accused of sexually abusing three children in his family.
Melvin Lee Rutherford, who remains in custody, appeared Thursday for arraignment in Sacramento Superior Court. He is scheduled to return Jan. 6 for further proceedings.
A woman earlier this year called authorities to report her 6-year-old daughter had been sexually abused by a family member, later identified as Rutherford, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Sheriff’s officials said investigators learned that Rutherford had also sexually abused the woman’s 9-year-old son and her 11-year-old son.
The 6-year-old girl told investigators that Rutherford performed several acts of sexual abuse in his home, before she told her mother several days later, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The children’s mother confronted Rutherford about the allegations; Rutherford responded that he did not know what to say to her, sheriff’s officials said.
During interviews with investigators, sheriff’s officials said the 9-year-old and 11-year-old boys described inappropriate acts by Rutherford who tried to give the boys marijuana. The boys refused the marijuana; and he forced it into the mouth of one of the boys, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives with the sheriff’s Child Abuse Bureau led the investigation and obtained an arrest warrant for Rutherford on one count of oral copulation on a victim 10 years old or younger and three counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office on Monday formally filed criminal charges against Rutherford, court records show.
Detectives from the sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau found and arrested Rutherford on Tuesday and booked him at the Sacramento County Main Jail. Rutherford was being held at the jail Friday afternoon with his bail set at $1.3 million.
