Formal charges of sodomy and sexual abuse have been filed against a former West Plains man who allegedly sexually assaulted three children in the 1980s.
Skyler J. Sheldon, 77, Ozark, faces five counts of sodomy involving a child younger than 14 and a count of first-degree sexual abuse, felony charges for which was arrested March 15 by the Christian County Sheriff's Department. He was released the same day released on $40,000 bond, according to court records.
An investigation was initiated in late January after a woman reported abuse by Sheldon and told law enforcement that she had confronted him about it in December, and he reportedly apologized to her about the incidents.
Two more women came forward with similar allegations they had been sexually assaulted at Sheldon's home multiple times during the same time frame.
On Feb. 7, Sheldon allegedly admitted to the assaults to investigators. The West Plains Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Christian County Sheriff's Department.
A probable cause statement submitted to Howell County prosecutors by West Plains Detective Joe Neuschwander shows the first victim filed a report on Jan. 26 and said she had been assaulted multiple times between 1986 and 1989 at Sheldon's home in West Plains.
The victim said the incidents happened when she was about 4 years old, and added he told her it was their secret and she was not to tell anybody about it. She stated she wasn't sure how many times it happened, but he did it as often as he could and over the course of a year or two, she had been at his house almost daily. She also said the assaults happened in the "piano room" of his house, and when she confronted him about it in December, he first denied the incidents but later became apologetic.
On Jan. 29, a second victim came forward to report she had been a neighbor of Sheldon's and had been assaulted multiple times at his house over a few years, when she was between 5 and 9 years old. On Feb. 6, the third victim reported while she was staying with a family member who was a neighbor of Sheldon’s, he assaulted her at his home, and she was 12 years old at the time.
On Feb. 7, during a law enforcement interview, Sheldon allegedly admitted to the assaults and said he lived in West Plains between 1977 and 1989. Neuschwander noted in his report that due to his disclosure, he was a safety risk to children and currently lives in close proximity to two public schools in Ozark.
Sheldon is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing on April 15 in Howell County before 37th Judicial Court Judge Steven Privette, and the case is being prosecuted by Howell County Prosecutor Mike Hutchings and Assistant Prosecutor Rizwan Ahad.
As of Friday afternoon Sheldon has not secured legal representation, according to court documents.
