Sheldon Scott Reynolds, 33, of Bonne Terre has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping a a woman at a Crystal City home and trying to rape a different woman outside an Imperial business. The rape occurred in December 2020, and the attempted rape in November 2020 authorities reported.
On Oct. 25, Reynolds pleaded guilty to first-degree rape or attempted rape for the December 2020 incident and second-degree attempted rape for the November 2020 incident. Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey sentenced him to 18 years in prison for the rape or attempted rape charge and four years for the attempted rape charge. However, the sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time, according to court documents.
On Dec. 16, 2020, Crystal City Police were called to help Joachim-Plattin Ambulance when an injured female was found on Airport Road. The woman had cuts on her right hand and a puncture wound on the left side of her chest, and she told investigators she had been raped, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
The woman said she had exchanged text messages with Reynolds since November 2020, and he had offered to pay her for sex. On the day she was raped, she said Reynolds offered her $300 and then $450 for oral sex, the report said.
The woman agreed to meet Reynolds, who initially told her to meet him at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City. After she arrived at the hospital, he told the woman to meet him at a home in Crystal City and to enter through an unlocked door, according to the report.
The woman said after she entered the house, Reynolds threw her onto the living room floor and hit her in the face. He then pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed her multiple times in her right hand as she tried to defend herself, the report said.
The probable-cause statement said Reynolds threatened to kill the woman during the attack and began to choke her. The woman said she eventually “gave up,” and Reynolds raped her before telling her to “get out,” according to the report.
After Reynolds was arrested, another woman told a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigator on Jan. 25 that Reynolds attempted to rape her in November 2020, the report said.
The woman said he agreed to pay her $600 for a massage, and she agreed to meet Reynolds at the A-Plus Travel agency, 5844 Hwy. 61-67, in Imperial. The woman also said when she arrived, Reynolds got into the back seat of her car and tried to kiss her. She said she told him to stop, and when she turned around to talk to him, Reynolds exposed himself, according to the report.
Reynolds asked the woman to get into the back of the car with him, and when she got out of the car, he pushed her into the back seat and punched her. The two struggled, and after the woman kicked Reynolds, she was able to escape from the car, the report said.