A young man from Cherokee is facing several charges after a woman reported he was having sexual intercourse with her daughter, age 15.

Jacob Leslie Young, 19, is charged with three felony counts: rape – second degree, lewd or indecent acts to a child under 16, and performing lewd act in presence of a minor. These crimes are punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 to 20 years.

Court records show on Dec. 11, 2018, Cherokee Police Chief Ryan McNeil was contacted by Assistant Police Chief Mike Andrews who was investigating a report that the girl was missing from the Cherokee High School. During that time it was earned the girl had left school and gone to the home of the suspect.

The girl’s mother said she had been told by the school that her daughter was missing. The mother said she believed the girl was with Young because they had been “hanging out” recently. She said she sent a text message to Young that the police were looking for her daughter and would be looking for him if her daughter was there. The mother said she then knocked on Young’s door and he answered wearing only underwear.

The mother said the girl was found walking down the street and reported she was mad and had been fighting with Young. When the mother tried to look through the girl’s cellphone, she said the girl threw and damaged it so it would not power on.

When Andrews talked to the girl, with her mother’s permission, the girl denied a sexual relationship with Young. Eventually the mother took the girl to the hospital in Woodward where a rape examination could be conducted.

McNeil was able to conduct an interview with the girl in the presence of her mother and Deputy Loren Nusser. According to McNeil’s affidavit, the girl said she had consensual sex with Young at his grandmother’s house with the first instance in October 2018.

McNeil contacted Young by phone on Dec. 13. He denied the allegations and said he “had no idea” why the girl would have said they were having sex and said she was lying. McNeil told Young he did not believe he was being truthful and he would contact him the next day.

On Dec. 14 in another phone conversation, Young admitted to having sex with the girl, according to the affidavit.

Charges were filed Jan. 9 and a warrant has been issued for Young’s arrest.