A preliminary hearing has been set for a Thomas man charged with multiple counts of rape and other charges.
That hearing is scheduled to take place December 4.
Joey Dale Pearson, 29, faces charges in Custer County District Court with three separate counts of first-degree rape, two separate counts of rape by instrumentation, a solo count of forcible sodomy, two separate counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16, and a solo count of assault and battery.
Custer County court records indicate Pearson allegedly involved the accused suspect and 14-yearold daughter of a Thomas man.
Pearson was at the home because he had a child with the man’s 23-year-old daughter and was living at the home, Custer County court records indicate.
Thomas police met with the victim who indicated she and Pearson had been in an a heated argument and Pearson allegedly grabbed the victim by the arms and shoved her into the dining room table. The victim didn’t have any visible injuries at the time of the interview, Custer County court records indicate.
Police conducted a third-party call using the officer’s body camera to record the conversation. During the conversation, Pearson allegedly admitted to putting his hands on the victim’s shoulders. When asking Pearson why he did that to the victim, Pearson said he was upset seeing the victim with her boyfriend, Custer County court records indicate.
During a later interview, the victim told those interviewing about incidents happening both in Thomas and Canton, Custer County court records indicate.
The victim described the five separate alleged incidents in detail to law enforcement, including one which a video was taken, Custer County court records indicate.
Due to the nature of the incidents, those details will not be provided in this story.
After interviewing the victim, Pearson agreed to an interview. Pearson was read his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with authorities, Custer County court records indicate.
During the interview, Pearson allegedly admitted to having sex five times. He allegedly admitted he knew it was wrong and he was sorry, and he had a problem and he was in trouble and needed help. Pearson said he never threatened the victim and the sex was consensual, Custer County court records indicate.
Pearson also faces charges Blaine County District Court, where he is charged with a solo count of firstdegree rape, a single count of second-degree rape, a single count of rape by instrumentation, two counts of forcible sodomy, and a single count of lewd molestation.
Blaine County court records indicate the charges stem from several alleged incidents in Canton in the summer of 2019, when Pearson’s relationship with the victim began.
Court records indicate no hearing has been set in Blaine County.
If convicted, Pearson faces from 5 years to life in prison for each count of first-degree rape, 5 years to life in prison without parole for each count of rape by instrumentation, up to 20 years for the count of forcible sodomy, 3-20 years for each count of lewd or indecent acts to child under 16, and up to 90 days and/or a fine of $1,000 for the count of assault and battery.