A 32-year-old Raleigh man already on probation for a violent conviction in New York is now jailed without bail on charges that he sexually abused two young relatives, with police saying the alleged incidents happened at the family home in Raleigh in March and June. Jahquai Xavier Lightfoot-McHarris faces counts of statutory rape of a child 15 or younger, indecent liberties with a child and incest.
According to The News & Observer, Raleigh police arrested Lightfoot-McHarris on June 23 in connection with the alleged assaults, which the newspaper reports occurred on March 25 and June 8. One of the alleged victims, a 15-year-old, reported that Lightfoot-McHarris assaulted her in the middle of the night, while another minor relative reported that he raped her in March, when she was 14, the paper notes.
Evidence Collected, but Key Results Undisclosed
The 14-year-old victim completed a sexual assault kit at a hospital, and that kit was submitted to the state laboratory for testing, the outlet's reporting states. Court documents reviewed by the paper do not state the results of that testing. During a search on June 9, Raleigh police seized a sheet, a blanket, DNA swabs and photographs, per the same account.
The newspaper's reporting also notes that a follow-up interview with investigators was not completed because the victim and her mother did not attend scheduled interviews, and that multiple attempts were made to complete a child medical evaluation. Lightfoot-McHarris remains jailed without bail as the case proceeds.
A Prior Conviction and Transferred Probation
Court records tied to the case describe a history of violence predating the current charges. Lightfoot-McHarris previously lived in New York, where he allegedly assaulted a woman in November 2019, and court records attribute to him an allegation that he stomped on and choked another woman following an argument in her car, the report states.
He pleaded guilty to an aggravated family offense in New York in March 2024 and was completing a five-year probationary period tied to that conviction, the paper's reporting shows. An aggravated family offense, per the same account, can include certain misdemeanors committed by someone previously convicted within five years of a specified misdemeanor against a family or household member. New York officials allowed Lightfoot-McHarris to move to North Carolina and transfer his supervision, and that probation was shifted to Wake County in October 2024.
Protective Order Predates Current Charges
The mother of his child had obtained a protective order against Lightfoot-McHarris dating to November 2021, the outlet reports. That order was granted after he allegedly jumped on the woman's car, smashed a food container in her face and threw items at her, according to the same court-records account.
The same records describe additional allegations involving the mother of his child, including that he assaulted her in October 2023, chased her, threatened to hurt her in front of their infant, and assaulted her after she rejected his request for sex. The family home where the current alleged abuse occurred is located in Raleigh.
North Carolina law addresses the statutory rape charge under a section of the General Assembly's criminal statutes, which states that a defendant is guilty of a Class B1 felony for certain conduct involving a victim 15 or younger, according to North Carolina General Assembly records. A separate section of state law, identified in legislative records as covering incest between certain near relatives, is also cited in the case. New York court guidance indicates that a final order of protection in that state may last up to two years, or up to five years if a judge finds aggravating circumstances, according to New York Courts.
