PEOPLE
Ala. Man Forced 10-Year-Old Girl to Perform Sex Acts So She Could Play Video Games
By Emily Palmer Published on October 11, 2024 01:08PM EDT
Content warning: This article contains disturbing details of child sex abuse.
An Alabama man has been convicted of first-degree sodomy and sex abuse of a child under the age of 12, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey tells PEOPLE.
Dustin Lamar Peoples abused a 10-year-old girl for months, forcing her to perform oral sex on him in exchange for permission to play video games on a gaming console, according to prosecutors.
In March 2019, the young girl confided in a trusted adult about the abuse, and days later went to the Blount County Children’s Center to make an official report, according to Casey.
“She did her best to explain the things that had been done to her using terms she understood at the time,” Casey said in a statement after his Thursday, Oct. 10, conviction. “She was innocent. She did not know the common words that adults or even teenagers would use to describe what had happened to her. She spoke as a child. As an innocent child. Dustin Peoples stole this child’s innocence.”
The girl told authorities that she had been abused from August 7, 2018, through Christmas of that year, according to prosecutors.
During his four-day trial in Blount County Circuit Court, prosecutors said they presented evidence that Peoples forcibly touched the 10-year-old’s breasts and vagina and coerced her to perform oral sex on him on at least four occasions.
Peoples took the stand, testifying in his own defense and denied having any inappropriate contact with the young girl, according to prosecutors.
Following the verdict, the 43-year-old man – who had been out on $50,000 bond on the August 2019 indictment until his conviction – was remanded to Blount County Correction ahead of his Nov. 19 sentencing.
Peoples faces at least 20 years and as many as 99 years for the sodomy charge, says Casey, noting that the 20-year minimum is because of the girl’s young age. He faces between two and 20 years on the sex abuse charge.
Citing Alabama law, the district attorney says he will not be eligible for good time, nor will his sentence be probated or paroled.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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