A man who raped a 9 year-old Wausau girl and the mother who let it happen have been jailed in Marathon County. Prosecutors charged 41 year-old Bryan Hearron Friday with sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s 9 year-old daughter at least three times. They also charged the 32 year-old mother with failing to protect her child from the assaults.
The woman told police she knew the sexual contact was happening but didn’t want to report it because she could not afford to live on her without the boyfriend’s support. A third person who lived in the house, convicted sex offender Clyde McCollum, is charged with nine counts of possessing child pornography after police found a stash of DVD’s in his top dresser drawer.
The investigation began after McCollum bragged about being in love with the girl and told others that he planned to marry the girl and have children with her. McCollum is a convicted sex offender from Illinois and is registered in Wisconsin. The three defendants have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
