Aurora’s Fleetwood arrested, charged with violent crimes, one involving infant

An Aurora man was booked into the Lawrence County Jail on Wednesday, Sept. 13, after he was arrested for allegedly raping a woman and  assaulting an infant to stop him from crying.
Jacob Fleetwood, 22, is charged with first-degree rape, third-degree domestic assault, first-degree child endangerment and abuse or neglect of a child.
According to the probable cause statement in the case, the Aurora-Marionville police officer investigating the allegations spoke with the mother of the child on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The child’s mother told the officer that Fleetwood, with whom she had formally been in a relationship with, was physically abusive to her and her children. The woman showed the officer several bruises on her body which were in various stages of healing; she told the officer they were examples of Fleetwood’s abuse towards her.
The officer inquired about a bruise on the woman’s neck; she replied that on Monday, Sept. 11, Fleetwood forced her to have sex with him.
The woman also agreed to go to the Cox Monett Hospital to be examined. While there, the woman said that she had told Fleetwood on Sept. 11 that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him due to his “abusive and controlling nature.” She said that she tried to get away from him, but he followed her, shoved her down onto a couch and immobilized her. She also said that was when Fleetwood assaulted her. Afterwards, she said, she borrowed Fleetwood’s cell phone and called her father.
The woman’s father arrived with police officers, and she later left with her father. She also said that she didn’t tell them about the alleged rape at that time because she “feared Fleetwood and his family.” The next morning, however, she told her Children’s Division case manager about the abuse, and a report was filed. Later in the interview, the woman also said that Fleetwood and an “accomplice” had raped her “four or five times” during the previous six weeks (The accomplice’s name was not included in the probable cause statement).
The woman also told the officer that on Monday, Sept. 4, while she was preparing a bottle to feed the infant, her baby was alone with Fleetwood in the living room of the residence. She said she came into the room to find Fleetwood with his finger down the child’s throat. She said that she told Fleetwood to stop and then removed the child from the area; at that point, she also said, the child was gagging and spitting up on Fleetwood’s finger. The woman also said that she believed Fleetwood was angry and trying to get the child to stop from crying; she also said that he had done this to the child on multiple occasions.
Fleetwood arrested, confesses, recants
The officer met Fleetwood at his family’s residence on Sept. 13, and he agreed to accompany him to the police station, where he was read his Miranda rights and informed that he was under arrest.
The officer reported that he questioned Fleetwood about the rape allegation. According to the probable cause statement, Fleetwood at first denied the allegation and claimed he and the victim were engaged in roleplay, but later admitted to raping her and provided “several statements that corroborated the victim’s story.”
Next, the officer reported that when they discussed the allegations that Fleetwood had put his finger down the child’s throat, Fleetwood initially denied the accusation and “later said it was an accident.” The officer said that Fleetwood claimed he became upset and angry when the baby would not stop crying and “partially blacked out.”
Fleetwood then, according to the probable cause statement, said he was trying to “comfort” the baby by allowing it to suck on his finger, but when it would not stop crying, he said he forced his finger down the child’s throat. He also said he placed his finger in the child’s mouth about two times before, but “only forced his finger down the baby’s throat once.”
At the end of the interview, the officer informed Fleetwood of the charges he was facing, after which Fleetwood recanted his confessions.
Fleetwood appeared in court on Monday, Sept. 25, for a bond reduction hearing; he was granted an LBS surety bond with electronic monitoring and the condition that he have no contact with the victim. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, Oct. 26, for a preliminary hearing.
As of press time, Fleetwood remained in custody at the Lawrence County Jail.