Man Admits to Trying to Fake Death to Dodge Charges Over Rape of Teen Girl

A man has admitted to trying to fake his own death as part of an effort to dodge charges in connection with sexually assaulting a teen girl.

Per a report from CBS News, Jacob Blair Scott—a military veteran—pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to charges including sending a false distress call and giving false information. Additionally, Scott pleaded guilty to having illegally shipped weapons. Federal sentencing for Scott, who earlier this year received an 85-year sentence after his conviction on charges including sexual battery and chid exploitation, is slated to take place this November.

Adding more context here is a report from regional Alabama outlet WALA-TV, which noted in its report on Monday that authorities in Orange Beach found a boat with a pistol and suicide note attached in July 2018. A subsequent Coast Guard search is estimated to have cost more than $17,000. At the time, per the outlet, Scott was slated to appear in court in Mississippi in connection with the aforementioned charges in connection with having raped and impregnated a 14-year-old girl.

Convicted charges in that case ultimately included multiple counts of sexual battery and touching a child for lustful purposes, as well as a single count of child exploitation, per AP.

Scott, who had taken to using a fake name, was ultimately found in Oklahoma. Just before being located and arrested, he had been added to the U.S. Marshals’ most-wanted fugitives list. At the time, a Marshals rep said they had received a tip from someone who said a person “fitting the description” was living at a mobile home park in the Antlers area. The Marshals touted Scott’s capture as the “fastest apprehension of a fugitive” in the history of its most-wanted program.