A man who was accused of statutory rape of a 14-year-old student he met as a substitute teacher was found dead in his jail cell.
30-year-old Brandon Holbrook was accused of having sex with a student he met at Bernard Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri.
The St. Louis County Police Department had announced his arrest on September 19.
“Through the investigation, it was learned that Holbrook engaged in sexual contact with the victim and made veiled threats if the victim disclosed the information,” police said.
According to court documents, Holbrook was accused of grooming the victim through social media and then having sex with her at her home three times.
Holbrook was awaiting trial at the St. Louis County Justice Center when he was found unresponsive on Monday in his cell at about 4 p.m. by a corrections officer. He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
He was facing six counts of statutory sodomy second degree and three counts of statutory rape second degree.
Doug Moore, the chief communications officer for St. Louis County, said that there were “no signs of drug use or indications of suicide” in his cell and the cause of death had not yet been determined.
Holbrook was alone in his cell and under quarantine when he died.
“Holbrook had met with a mental health case worker earlier that day, and he was fine,” Moore added.
Police believed that he might have had other victims because he had been a substitute teacher at other schools in the St. Louis area.
The St. Louis Dispatch reported that Holbrook was the third inmate to die at the St. Louis County Jail this year.
Here’s a local news report about the incident:
Former Mehlville School District substitute teacher accused of raping teen found dead in jail
www.youtube.com