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Purple Heart Recipient Accused Of Raping Teen Stepdaughter, Then Faking Suicide Caught In Trailer Park, Authorities Say
Jacob Scott has been on the run since 2018, when authorities say he tried to stage his own death to avoid child rape charges.
A Mississippi military veteran who allegedly raped and impregnated his teenage stepdaughter — and who authorities say staged a fake suicide — was apprehended by U.S. Marshals this week.
Jacob Blair Scott was arrested in a trailer park in Antlers, Oklahoma around midnight on Wednesday, authorities said. Earlier that day, Scott was added to the U.S. Marshals Service’s 15 Most Wanted fugitives list. Authorities said a tipster called the Pushamataha Sheriff’s Office to report an individual fitting Scott’s description.
“Our Oklahoma office coordinated with the local sheriff’s office there and they approached that RV,” U.S Marshals Inspector Jeremy Stilwell told Oxygen.com. “Once they got there, they surrounded it, they made call-outs trying to get people inside the RV to come out.”
Scott eventually emerged, but initially denied his identity, Stilwell said. However, authorities confirmed his identity using tattoos the man had, and he was later arrested.
“This all-out media blitz led to a critical citizen tip that ultimately resulted in the fastest apprehension of a fugitive in the 37-year history of the 15 Most Wanted program,” Jeff Taylor, assistant director for investigative operations, added in a statement.
Authorities had previously described Scott as a “survivalist” with a “knowledge of the outdoors.” He was deployed in Iraq, officials said, and earned a Purple Heart in 2011 after being wounded. There had been earlier reported sightings of him in Colorado, Nevada, and Louisiana.
“His military background and knowledge of the outdoors may enable him to live off the grid,” Marshals said.
Scott was charged in 2017 on a sprawling 14-count indictment related to the sexual assault of a minor relative, according to an indictment obtained by Oxygen.com. He was charged with nine counts of sexual battery, four counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes, and one count of exploitation.
U.S. Marshals Service Director Donald Washington referred to the child rape accusations against Scott as “unspeakable.”
The 14-year-old victim was Scott’s stepdaughter and DNA testing confirmed that he also impregnated her, authorities said.
“[Authorities] let me know early, early that they caught him,” the mother of Scott’s alleged victim told the Sun Herald. “We are very happy and my daughter just cried. She feels safe now.”
Scott was suspected of faking his own death in 2018 in order to avoid the charges against him. His boat was found abandoned about a mile off Orange Beach along the Gulf Coast, allegedly with a note from him and a handgun tied to a rope, according to the Sun Herald.
The girl’s family had suspected all along that Scott wasn’t actually dead.
“We knew the whole time that he was alive and everybody tried to say he was dead and we kept telling them he was alive,” the mother added. “All of this pretty much ruined our whole life. It has caused so much stress and heartache.”
Scott is expected to be extradited from Oklahoma to stand trial in Mississippi, officials said. He’s currently being held at the Pittsburg County Jail.
