Wagoner County man arrested for child rape

Sheriffâ€™s deputies in Wagoner County have made an arrest in a child rape case. It started when the victim was six years old and living in Porter. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says for Darold

Tuesday, February 21st 2006, 9:50 am

By: News On 6

Sheriffâ€™s deputies in Wagoner County have made an arrest in a child rape case. It started when the victim was six years old and living in Porter.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says for Darold Wright, the past year has been a nightmare. "You feel like breaking down, you love your kids and you want the right thing for them and then some animal comes along and does this."

He discovered his 13 year old daughter had been raped, over a number of years, according to her, by her stepfather, James Paul Willhite[pictured]. He's been arrested - and detectives say they found two other victims, by talking to young relatives.

Wagoner County Sheriffâ€™s deputy Bob Haley: "Unfortunately, we see a lot of this." Deputy Bob Haley gets credit for working the case to make the arrest, both from the victims family, and the district attorney's office.

Wagoner County assistant DA Grant Husky: "He became a little more proactive, did some more interviewing and was able to present us with a probable cause affadavit."

Willhite is 42 and now divorced from the victim's mother. He was arrested Friday night and bonded out of jail Sunday.

Court documents detail a progression of the allegations. The victim says she was fondled by Willhite when she was 6, was raped when she was 12 and was raped and forced to pose for nude photos when she was 13. Darold Wright: â€œfrom what I gather, he would take her out to the country and make her get naked and set on top of a truck, or inside the cab of the truck and take pictures of her.â€

Wright now is looking forward to the prosecution of the man accused of raping his daughter. Investigators say even though Willhite is out on bond, they believe she's out of harm's way. Deputy Bob Haley: "They've moved from that town, they're with their mother and I believe they're protected."

The charges for all three victims have been lumped into one case. There are two girls who say they were raped, both at young ages, the other girl claims Willhite exposed himself to her. He's got a court date on March 8th.