Rape Coverage

12-year-old's text led to arrest of man charged with her rape, family says

The girl's father said she was not allowed to talk on the phone, but was allowed to text.

Chelsea Donovan, WRAL reporter

'Under 13 is under 13': Judge responds to attorney's claims that man charged with kidnapping & rape believed 12-year-old girl was college student

Baker's attorney, Lee Turner, said the young girl had been posing as a 19-year-old East Carolina University student. The judge, however, wasn't buying it.

Chelsea Donovan, WRAL reporter

Man appears in court for kidnapping, rape of 12-year-old Durham girl

Police arrested Preston Baker Saturday afternoon during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 near Jones Sausage Road.

Fact check: Has crime 'skyrocketed' under President Biden?

Echoing a common conservative media talking point, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted a video to X in which she said that crime had exploded under President Joe Biden.

Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact reporter

In Durham, guilty plea comes 34 years after sexual assault

Samuel Harris has been convicted of two counts of second-degree rape and three counts of second-degree sexual offense in a 1990 sexual assault in Durham County.

WRAL Staff

Fort Liberty soldier charged with rape of 13-year-old girl

A Fort Liberty soldier accused of sex crimes with a 13-year-old girl faces multiple charges, including rape.

Arrest made in sexual assault cases dating back to 1998 in Raleigh

Raleigh police arrested Tracy Lamont Thompson in connection with sexual assaults they say happened in 1998, 2007 and 2009.

WRAL Staff

Man charged in half sister's murder now charged with rape in 2015 cold case

Jahreese Jones, who was charged with his half-sister's murder in 2022, now faces several new charges, including first-degree rape in connection to an Aug. 2015 cold case, according to the Wilmington Police Department.

WECT

Man charged in two sexual assaults at Fayetteville cemetery

Detectives with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office identified and arrested Daymond Mikel Watts, 38 and charged him with rape and kidnapping, among other charges.

Man accused of repeatedly raping woman with mental disability behind bars

Three men have been arrested after a young woman with a mental disability was raped repeatedly while being held at a home in Spring Hope.

Three men arrested after young woman with mental disability raped repeatedly at Spring Hope home

On Feb. 12, the Nash County Sheriff's Office responded to UNC Nash General Hospital in reference to a woman being sexually assaulted. Upon arriving at the hospital, deputies identified the victim as a 20-year-old woman with a mental disability.

WRAL staff

Garner couple charged with making child porn

Darryl Edwin Foley, 34, and Carmen Delia Foley, 31, are facing multiple charges related to child sex crimes.

WRAL staff

Man charged in 1998 Raleigh rape case, given $3 million bond

Averette Alston was charged for his alleged role in a sexual assault from Aug. 26, 1998 on S. State Street.

WRAL Staff

Pest control employee arrested for rape of Tarboro juvenile inside apartment

An employee of Morgan Pest Control is facing charges after Tarboro police said he forcibly raped a juvenile inside an apartment.

Pest control employee arrested for rape of Tarboro teenage girl inside apartment

An employee of Morgan Pest Control is facing charges after Tarboro police said he forcibly raped a 15-year-old girl inside an apartment.

Heidi Kirk, WRAL eastern North Carolina reporter

'Just glad she was alive': Relative relieved Fayetteville teen survived being trapped in Kentucky man's home

Authorities found the teen inside the home after searching the property and discovering the trap door. The teen admitted to authorities the suspect lured her from her home in North Carolina after lying about his age and threatened to shoot a deputy during a traffic stop.

Liz McLaughlin, WRAL climate change reporter, Gilbert Baez, WRAL Fayetteville reporter and Chris Lovingood, WRAL anchor/reporter

Charges: Kentucky man had NC teen under trap door in his bedroom

Kentucky authorities rescued a missing Fayetteville teen girl from beneath a trapdoor on Christmas Day.

Raleigh man charged with 12 counts of rape, 10 counts of kidnapping over almost a decade

A Raleigh man was arrested Tuesday and charged with 12 counts of rape and other sexual assaults that occurred over nearly 10 years.

Raleigh man charged with 12 counts of rape, including a child, over span of a decade

A Raleigh man was arrested Tuesday and charged with 12 counts of rape and other sexual assaults that occurred over nearly 10 years.

Julian Grace, WRAL anchor/reporter

Why it took Durham police years to catch a serial rapist with charges dating back decades

A Durham man facing charges in multiple rape cases evaded police for years. WRAL Investigates the challenges authorities faced in charging a man linked to rape cases dating as far back as 1989.

Sarah Krueger, WRAL Investigates reporter; Monica Casey, WRAL Durham reporter

Serial rapist evades Durham police for more than a decade

A local serial rapist evaded police for more than a decade. What WRAL uncovered after digging through court files, and why leaders say it took so long to finally track him down.

'Be careful: ' Woman says man delivering groceries through Instacart raped her in her home

A Fayetteville woman says she was raped by the person who delivered her groceries through Instacart late last month.

Carly Haynes, WRAL reporter

Raleigh man arrested, charged with rape of child

Taurean Rahssan White, 40, was arrested on Wednesday by Raleigh police.

WRAL Staff

Serial rapist charged with hiding woman's body

Dennis Speed, who's imprisoned at the Durham County Detention Center, has some charges going back almost 15 years.

Man linked to 4 rapes accused of hiding woman's body in Durham

Dennis Speed, who's imprisoned at the Durham County Detention Center, has some charges going back almost 15 years.

Monica Casey, WRAL Durham reporter