Chattanooga Man Arrested On Child Rape Charges

  • Tuesday, July 29, 2014
  • Hollie Webb
Michael Skellenger
Michael Skellenger

A Chattanooga man was taken into custody after he admitted to police that he raped his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

According to police, the young girl was with her grandmother the following day and told her what her father, Michael Skellenger, had done. 

Her grandmother immediately rushed her to the hospital for an examination. They were directed to the Children's Advocacy Center. Unusual bruising was discovered.

When a nurse practitioner asked the victim about what happened, the girl told her the same thing. 

In the grandmother's statement, she told police that the girl had blood on her face when she initially picked her up from her father's home.

However, Skellenger told her it was just "ketchup."

Skellenger also told her he had a hangover and that he had gotten so drunk he did not remember going to bed. 

After picking up the girl, the grandmother took her to a swim lesson. It was in the car afterward that the victim told what had happened.

The victim told her grandmother that Skellenger "smacked" her when she started crying. 

Police scheduled an interview with Skellenger on July 22. At first, he said he did not remember performing any sexual acts on the victim.

However, as the interview went on, he admitted to the rape and to remembering everything clearly. Police called him a monster, and he agreed. 

Skellenger was charged with aggravated rape of a child. Bond was set at $300,000. He is scheduled to appear before Judge David Bales on Thursday.

 

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