Father/Child Sexual Assault Alleged

Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is hard being a child these days. In their world, they have to contend with growing pains, peer pressure, school shootings and in some cases, domestic issues at home. Sexual assault on a child is a traumatizing ordeal for a child, male or female, as those alleged to having committing such acts, deserve the full brunt of the law. An 8-year-pld victim was taken to Glenwood Regional Medical Center recently because she had been wetting the bed and on herself while at school. According to authorities, on Sept. 6, 2024, officers of the West Monroe Police Department responded to the medical facility and were advised by the victim's mother that her child had been wetting herself, something that was out of the ordinary, according to authorities. When officers questioned the victim/child, they were advised that the father, identified as 40-year-old Markus Montreal Byrd, made the victim/child perform sexual acts on him at his residence. The acts allegedly occurred when the victim/child stayed with him on weekends. The suspect was accused of molesting the victim/child during those incidents, and is also alleged to have attempted to have intercourse with the victim/child. The victim/child was taken to a medical facility for a medical exam and tests, where the victim/child allegedly tested for a sexually transmitted disease, according to officials. Byrd was arrested and charged on Sept. 16, 2024 with Aggravated Crime Against Nature and First-Degree Rape. Bond was set at $100,000.