Aurora’s Milford to be tried for statutory rape, other crimes

Suspect committed sex crimes in church parking lot; has history with recently murdered Sarah Pasco
An Aurora man is in custody at the Lawrence County Jail while awaiting charges he had sex with an underage girl and provided her with illegal drugs. Nathaniel Milford is facing charges of Statutory Rape in the Second Degree, Statutory Sodomy in the Second Degree, Child Endangerment in the First Degree and Delivery of a Controlled Substance.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the victim told a Child Advocacy Center interviewer that she met Milford when she was 15 and they began having sex in his camper in Aurora; she said they had sex there about 10 times, the last time being on July 10, 2019. The victim also said they had sex in Milford’s truck in the parking lot of an unknown church in Monett on an unknown date.
After they had sex, the victim reported, Milford would give her methamphetamine and/or heroin, which she would inject into her arm.
The victim, a juvenile runaway at the time the alleged crimes happened, was picked up by an Aurora/Marionville police officer in the early morning hours of July 11 at Milford’s address. She spoke with the interviewer on July 22, 2019.
On July 23, 2019, Aurora- Marionville Police executed a search at Milford’s address; they also arrested Milford.
In a post-Miranda interview, Milford claimed he’d met the victim a year earlier; he also said she’d told him she was 19.
Milford also said the victim had performed sex acts on him three times in his truck at an unknown church parking lot in Monett; additionally he said he would share his methamphetamine with the victim when they would meet up.
Milford told investigators he’d had sex with the victim, but it was only once. He also said on the night the police picked the victim up at his address, he ran because he had “a bag of weed” on him.
 Suspect has criminal history
Milford has two prior convictions. On Oct. 11, 2017, he pleaded guilty to Second-Degree Burglary and Receiving Stolen Property. According to the probable cause statement in this case, investigators met with Milford and the recently murdered Sarah C. Pasco at a location in Monett where they recovered several stolen items. In an interview, Pasco told investigators she and Milford went to an address in Verona twice, where they stole items and household goods belonging to the resident there. Milford stated he bought the items at a home in Springfield and transported them to Monett.
At the same time that he pleaded guilty to the Burglary and Receiving Stolen Property charges, Milford also pleaded guilty to Tampering with Electronic Monitoring Equipment. In that case, he removed an electronic monitoring device from around his ankle the court ordered him to wear. Milford received five years on both the Burglary and Receiving Stolen Property charges, as well as seven years for the Tampering charge, with all sentences to be served concurrently.
Milford remains in the custody of the Lawrence County Jail, where he is being held without bond. He is next due in court on Tuesday, Oct. 13, for a disposition hearing.