A former Poplar Bluff community leader charged with rape was released Monday on a $100,000 bond.
James Hoyt, 55, surrendered himself Monday at the Butler County Justice Center. He faces the first degree charges sodomy and rape, according to a probable cause statement on file at Butler County Courthouse.
He has denied the allegations in interviews with officers, who report in court documents they have been able to find evidence that contradicts elements of his statements.
Hoyt, who was once active in Poplar Bluff’s business and faith community, previously pleaded guilty in June 2013 to charges of Class B misdemeanor of second-degree sexual misconduct in Dunklin County after exposing himself to two women.
The newest allegations predate even that, according to Poplar Bluff Police Detective Shonna Grobe, who opened a cold case investigation against Hoyt in August.
This case involves allegations of sexual abuse and a forced sexual relationship in late 2001 and early 2002 with a then 17-year-old female. Hoyt was 32 at the time.
The charges against Hoyt involve acts that occurred “by means of forcible compulsion,” officers report.
“Hoyt was an authority figure in the victim’s life and she trusted him completely,” the probable cause statement reads. “Moreover, the suspect was much older, stronger, and more of a powerful person in general due to the community having a strong faith in him at the time.”
Grobe was contacted by the woman at the police station about incidents which reportedly happened in several locations in Poplar Bluff and Butler County, including churches and businesses.
Allegations
The woman told officers, “She was groomed and eventually taken advantage of sexually, many times over the course of a year.”
In the probable cause affidavit, the woman said she had “a lot in common” with Hoyt, and that he used that to build a relationship and trust. She said she began to confide in Hoyt as a fatherly figure, as well as a pastor figure, discussing theology and music. She saw him as a “safe person” and he told her he saw her as a daughter. He emailed and private messaged her multiple times a day, she said.
She recalled they would sit alone talking, debating ministry and praying, which led to friendly touching at first, a kiss on the forehead, hello and goodbye hugs, and a hand resting on her back.
According to the probable cause statement, this touching led to sexual incidents.
The woman said she told Hoyt no, but that the incidents included unwanted kissing, groping and digital penetration.
“(The woman) stated no matter how much she would tell him to stop, he almost always got his way,” the probable cause reports. “(She) stated no was not an acceptable answer to him and she eventually stopped fighting...”
The incidents included forcible rape and sodomy, according to police.
The woman told officers she felt scared, ashamed and afraid. She told authorities as an adult she realized Hoyt worked hard to make her emotionally dependent on him.
He told her their relationship was “our special friendship,” that the sexual contact was mostly her fault and that, “God will forgive you, but everyone else will be so disappointed in you.”
Hoyt
A voluntary interview was conducted Oct. 4 with Hoyt at his home, the probable cause states.
Hoyt initially said he had kissed the then-teenager, but that it was “100 percent consensual.”
Hoyt denied having sexual intercourse with the accuser, but eventually spoke “of kissing (the teen) more than ‘one time,’” officers reported.
He said he only recalled two out-of-town trips that involved the teen, and that those were group trips.
Officers said they later spoke with individuals who were aware at the time of a “close” relationship between Hoyt and the teen, who said they were aware of “several” out-of-town events the pair went on.
Hoyt denied being involved with a ministry which the accuser said he used as a way to create a relationship with her.
Charges
Officers report in the probable cause that Hoyt “committed the crime of rape in the first degree by having sexual intercourse many times over while the victim was not a willing participant and giving full consent.”