Chad Anthony Willyard, 37, of Festus has been accused of having multiple sexual encounters with a girl, who was younger than 17 at the time. The encounters allegedly happened between June 1 through Aug. 31, 2022, according to court documents.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on June 12 charged Willyard with two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy and three counts of second-degree statutory rape, which are all class D felonies and each are punishable by up to seven years in prison, court records said.
Willyard posted a $25,000 bond on June 24, and a court filing on Aug. 15 said he had been complying with the conditions of his bond release as of Aug. 1. He is scheduled to appear in court for a bond appearance hearing on Sept. 11, court documents show.
A lawyer listed for Willyard did not return a phone call to the Leader.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, Willyard had inappropriate contact with the girl at a Jefferson County home and in a deer stand that was inside the county.
The alleged victim also said Willyard requested she send him nude photos of herself. She said she shared pictures and videos of herself with him through Facebook Messenger and Snapchat, the report said.
Willyard on Dec. 11, 2023, allegedly told investigators he did receive inappropriate images of the girl. Investigators found the images on his cell phone, according to the report.