A Poplar Bluff man made his first court appearance Monday after being charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman, whose family reported her missing.
Edward Brandon Sterrett, 35, of the 100 block of County Road 538 appeared before Associate Circuit Judge C. Wade Pierce for arraignment on the Class A felony of first-degree kidnapping, the unclassified felonies of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy and the Class D felony of second-degree domestic assault.
The charges against Sterrett on Sunday stem from an investigation by the Poplar Bluff Police Department, which began Saturday when family members reported a 30-year-old Poplar Bluff woman was missing, according to a press release from Lt. Josh Stewart.
The woman reportedly had not been heard from after leaving from her place of employment on Thursday.
During the ensuing investigation, Stewart said, officers learned of a potential location for the woman.
Upon arriving at a residence in the 800 block of South Ninth Street, Stewart said, officers found the woman, who was suffering injuries about her face.
Officers, he said, also contacted Sterrett.
“Investigators spoke with the victim, who advised she knew Sterrett and indicated that the initial contact was consensual,” Stewart said. “Sterrett then took her to a residence where she was held against her will.
“She was later bound, repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted over the course of the next two days.”
The woman, Stewart said, was take to an area hospital for treatment.
Sterrett was booked at the Butler County jail, where he is being held on $100,000 cash or surety bond.