Gainesville man indicted for statutory rape of 12-year-old in 2008-09 when he was 23

William A. Huelsenbeck, 37, of Gainesville, has been indicted by an Ozark County grand jury on a felony charge of statutory rape - having sexual intercourse with a person younger than 14 regarding an alleged interaction in 2010.

Huelsenbeck appeared before Circuit Judge Craig Carter on Feb. 22 in the case with his attorney Public Defender Lauren Kate Welborn. He was released on his own recognizance with supervision by Court Probationary Services with a GPS monitor. He is scheduled to return to court before Carter at 1:30 p.m. March 22. 

According to the probable cause statement prepared by Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin, in October 2010, a teen girl came into the sheriff’s office and said that her ex-boyfriend had been messaging a 12-year-old girl and she believed he had also had sex with a 13-year-old girl from Thornfield. 

That led Martin to call the girl with whom the boyfriend had reportedly had sex with and request that she come into the sheriff’s department with a parent or guardian. The girl reportedly told the officer that her grandmother was aware that she was sexually active and had had multiple partners, one of whom she said was Huelsenbeck. 

The complaint in the case says that the sexual intercourse was reported to have happened sometime between Sept. 2, 2008, and Sept. 1, 2009. 

If convicted, Huelsenbeck would be subject to lifetime supervision and required to register as a sex offender in addition to any punishment. 

Although the case is now 13 years old, it can legally be filed. According to Missouri Revised Statute 556.037, there is no statute of limitations to prosecute unlawful sexual offenses involving a person younger than 18. Although the court documents do not explain the lapse of time between the incident and filing, it could be in reference to victim’s ability or willingness to testify and work with authorities to press charges.