By Cal Bryant

Special to the News-Herald

A Suffolk man who allegedly sexually assaulted a Northampton County juvenile is behind bars in Jackson, N.C., under a $100,000 bond.

After warrants were issued earlier this month, Raymond Allen Goodwin, 23, turned himself in Sunday at the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office. There, he was formally charged with statutory rape/sex offense of person who is 13, 14, or 15 by a person at least six years older than the victim.

Goodwin is scheduled for his first court appearance in Jackson on Thursday.

An investigation was launched June 7 after the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an assault in Severn. NCSO Deputy Justine Wilkins was the first responding unit to arrive at the residence, learning that the call was not an assault but a sexual assault of a juvenile.

Wilkins learned from the juvenile’s mother that while the mother was asleep, the juvenile left the residence. After learning her daughter was missing, the mother left the residence in an effort to locate the juvenile. While en route back to the residence, the mother spotted her daughter walking towards home.

According to the deputy’s report, the juvenile told her mother that she was with Goodwin. Wilkins then contacted Northampton County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Lt. Bo Deloatch to handle the investigation. During the course of his investigation, Deloatch gained information that led to obtaining an arrest warrant on Goodwin.

The investigation is still ongoing at this time.

“Keeping our children safe is a priority for the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office,” stated Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith. “Parents need to keep a constant check on their children.”

Smith commended the efforts of Wilkins and Deloatch for their work on the case.