Teen mother's older brother Derek Wood arrested on abuse charges
Two uncles arrested on similar charges last month
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 22:55 EST, 3 August 2012 | UPDATED: 00:20 EST, 4 August 2012
Police have arrested Dustin Kent for the third time in three months over allegations of sex abuse.
Dustin Kent, 36, who is the uncle of missing Alabama teen Brittney Wood, was charged with first-degree rape as well as first-degree sodomy for a crime he allegedly committed three years ago on a girl no older than 12. His bond was later set on $25,000.
Authorities said the current charges against Kent do not appear to be related to Ms Wood’s disappearance.
Mobile, Alabama Cpl. Chris Levy told Fox10tv.com that through their investigation on Ms Wood’s vanishing in May, they discovered Kent’s alleged abuse.
‘Through our missing person’s investigation for Brittany Wood, (Dustin Kent’s) name came up…We were able to determine we have a juvenile victim from three years ago,’ he said.
Kent was arrested twice before in the past few weeks in Baldwin County.
His first arrest, which happened in June, was on charges of rape and sodomy. Last month, he was charged with rape, sodomy, and incest.
Police would not release any information on the victim, save that she was less than 12 years old at the time of the alleged crime.
Holland shot himself just half an hour before he was scheduled to meet with investigators about the teen's disappearance.
Officials said he used Ms Wood's Raven .25-caliber handgun revolver.
'It just really does not look good that she went missing May 30 and two days later he commits suicide,' Ms Wood's mother, Chessie Wood said to Fox.
The family told Fox that normally, Ms Wood kept just two bullets in her weapon. Police confirmed that after Holland fired, there was just one left.
'I mean, I just want an answer. That’s all I want. I want to bring her home whether it be tragically or a happy ending,' Mrs Wood said.
Relatives are hoping that a $1,500 reward will help them find closure to the case.
'We believe we have missed something that is hollering our name, and maybe it was so obvious,' said Mrs Wood.
At first, some relatives thought Brittney may have skipped town.
'We as a family do not see how she had the means to run. We’ve covered every friend, every one of them are accounted for,' Mrs Woods said.
'I mean if she had to run because she's that scared, I would really believe that she would have [taken] her daughter with her.'
Brittney’ mother, Chessie Wood, told WKRG that Derek and Brittney were extremely close.
She told the network: 'They have the same friends, run the same places, I mean they're like this. He is Brittney's protector and he feels like he wasn't there when he should've been.'
Derek Wood, 21, was charged with abuse after her disappearance, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office.
In a statement posted on The Hometown Search for Brittney Wood Facebook page her father and stepmother, Wallace & Stephanie Hanke said: 'In the wake of the recent arrest our focus is still the same as it's been from the beginning (sic).
'Our goal is to bring Brittney home. Thanks for the continued support of family & friends.'
Derek Wood, who is listed on the office’s website as homeless, is being held on $25,000 bond.
Also in the weeks since Ms Wood vanished, two more of her uncles were arrested, but the arrests are not believed to be connected to the teen's case.
Both of the uncles, Dustin Kent, 32, and Randall Wood, 42, have since been released on bond.
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