A 30-year-old Columbia man faces a second-degree child-molestation charge after investigators alleged that he pulled a young boy from his bicycle and sexually assaulted him earlier this month. Matthew McCoy was being held in the Boone County Jail in connection with the case, according to ABC17NEWS.
Investigators allege McCoy molested a child at Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary in Columbia on September 14, as reported by ABC17NEWS. Court documents cited by KRCG state that the child, who was under 10 years old, was riding a bicycle at Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary on Rollins Road that day when a man took him off his bike and grabbed his genitals.
Child Broke Free and Called for Help
The court documents say the boy told the man to stop, shouted for a friend and then got away. Investigators later said the man's clothing matched the description provided by the child.
Court documents also indicate that a mother saw the man in the park on the day of the alleged incident, and reported days later that he was back at Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary. That mother reportedly recognized the man's picture in a Facebook group, per a report from KRCG-TV.
About Bonnie View and the charge
According to the City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department, Bonnie View Nature Area is the trailhead for the Scott’s Branch Trail and covers about 93 acres. Missouri law defines second-degree child molestation as subjecting a child younger than 12 to sexual contact and classifies the offense as a class B felony, according to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes.
Officers Identify Suspect
According to the court records described in the KRCG report, officers used the photograph to identify McCoy and found him at the Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia. The records indicated he was being held without bond on the second-degree child-molestation charge.
McCoy was being held in connection with the case. His current bond status and whether he has an attorney or has entered a plea were not publicly available. No additional details about the identities of the child or witnesses have been made public.
