Teen held on rape charge; Allegedly assaulted 6-year-old boy while babysitting
By Kate House-Layton, Delaware State News
SMYRNA A Smyrna teen was arrested Tuesday in connection with the alleged rape of a 6-year-old boy he was babysitting.
The teen was babysitting five children, ages 1 to 12, for a neighbor in the McLane Gardens apartment complex in Smyrna when the alleged incident took place, said Smyrna Police Department spokesman Lt. Norman Wood.
Police were called to McLane Gardens Tuesday, Lt. Wood said, after a report of the alleged assault.
The teen, a friend of the boy's family, went to the Smyrna police station Tuesday and asked to speak to an officer, Lt. Wood said.
After questioning, police charged Matthew J. Bagwell, 18, of 706 McLane Gardens, Smyrna, with first-degree rape and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Lt. Wood said.
He was committed to Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna in default of $53,000 secured bond, Lt. Wood said.
According to court records, the Bagwell teen told police he was in a bedroom with the children watching television while their mother was not at home.
He told police he was lying on the bed with the victim when the alleged assault occurred, court records said.
The boy's siblings, ages 3, 2 and 1, also were lying on the bed and the boy's 12-year-old brother was on the floor during the alleged assault, court records said.
The boy was treated and released from Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital in Dover on Tuesday and is back at home with his family, Lt. Wood said.
Joseph Smack, a spokesman for the state Division of Family Services, said the agency did some initial work on the case and the child likely will be interviewed by the children's advocacy center, a nonprofit agency in Delaware with offices in all three counties.
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