David N. Plyushchev, 22, West Plains, has been charged by grand jury indictment with felony second-degree statutory rape after a traffic stop led to the investigation of Plyushchev as the probable father of teen's baby.
Plyushchev was served a warrant with a $50,000 bond on Dec. 29, the day of his initial appearance, when he entered a plea of “not guilty.” Court records show he appeared Friday before 37th Circuit Presiding Judge Steven Privette with his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jack Paisley, who argued for the defendant to be released from custody on his own recognizance. Howell County Prosecutor Mike Hutchings, prosecuting the case with Assistant Prosecutor Rizwan Ahad, requested “some sort of bond be imposed,” along with an order for no contact with the victim, the records show; Privette ordered a bond reduction of $5,000.
Plyushchev is next scheduled to appear before Privette on Jan. 26 for a trial setting.
A probable cause statement submitted by Msgt. Thomas Meyer, with Troop G of the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Willow Springs, states that on July 8, Meyer he was on patrol near Richards School on north U.S. 63 when he saw Plyushchev's vehicle leave the parking lot of a business. He reportedly noticed the car didn't have a front license plate, and that neither Plyushchev nor his front passenger were wearing seat belts.
The trooper identified Plyushchev as the driver, and his age at the time as 21. The passenger was found to be a 16-year-old girl whose birthday was the month prior, and Meyer stated he noticed it appeared she was pregnant and in her third trimester.
While speaking with the two, they appeared to be nervous and evasive, the trooper observed, and Plyushchev denied being the father while the teen confirmed she was eight months pregnant, making her 15 at the time she conceived.
Further investigation into Pluyshchev, including his social media profiles, revealed videos of the pregnant teen and a profile picture showing ultrasound image of an unborn baby, the trooper added, leading Meyer to doubt the suspect's claim that he wasn't the father.
In a later interview with members of the teens family, one said he was "pretty sure" Pluyshchev was the father and confirmed the girl was 15 when she became pregnant, and said he believed Pluyshchev was 21 at the time.
Further interviews with the girl's family members seemed to affirm Pluyshchev as the baby’s father, including reports of a statement by the teen to family members that he is the father and that Pluyshchev himself reportedly admitted the child is his.
During further interviews with law enforcement, Pluyshchev reportedly continued to deny fathering the child, and said he had started dating the girl at a time that would have made her 14 when their dating relationship began, but also denied having any sexual contact with her.
When confronted with what others had said about him being the father, the suspect reportedly claimed they were rumors and lies, but also denied Meyer permission to take a cheek swab for DNA testing. Meyer eventually obtained a search warrant to collect the sample, and eventually also secured search warrants to take samples from the mother, and the baby after it was delivered in order to determine paternity.
On Dec. 15, the results were provided and the paternity test showed the probability Pluyshchev was the child's father at over 99.999%, Meyer reported.
