Iredell Co. girl needs surgery after rape by man she considered her dad, deputies say

A 28-year-old Iredell County man has been charged over the weekend with the statutory rape of a 7-year-old girl, who believed him to be her father, say Iredell County investigators.

The girl remained hospitalized Monday in Winston-Salem, with extensive injuries that will require surgery, officials said.

Deputies arrested Brentley Jason Byers in the case, and charged him with the statutory rape of child by an adult. Bond was set at $1 million. Byers is the biological father of two of the victim’s siblings, officials said.

More charges are likely, officials said Monday.

Sheriff Darren Campbell reports the assault happened Friday in Olin, about 40 miles north of Statesville.

The mother of the child told investigators she left the home Friday, July 21, at 7 a.m. to go to work and didn’t return until Saturday, around 1 p.m.

“When she arrived home, she found the victim sitting in chair in the living room with blood on her and the suspect was on the couch asleep,” said Campbell in a press release.

“The victim told her mother that Brentley Jason Byers, the person she refers to as her father, did this to her. The victim told her mother that she had been sexually assaulted.”

Evidence collected at the scene included clothing that was found in the washing machine, officials said.

Investigators said they determined Byers was left with all four children, but that another family member had come by late Friday and picked up two of the children from the home. “Indications were that the crime occurred during the night when only two small children and the suspect were in the home,” investigators said.

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 10:16 AM with the headline "Iredell Co. girl needs surgery after rape by man she considered her dad, deputies say."