ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man is sitting in jail awaiting trial after being accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the crime took place on Dec. 30, 2023, in the 4200 block of North 20th Street, in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
Police were notified on Jan. 13, 2024, of a possible child molestation. The victim’s mother said her daughter told her about the incident on January 8, and she immediately took her to a hospital.
The mother told police the molestation happened after she dropped her daughter off at the home of Travis Hill so she could visit a friend, who was Hill’s relative.
The mother approved her daughter’s participation in a forensic interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center on January 24.
During both the forensic interview and initial conversation with police, the 8-year-old described how Hill pulled her into his bedroom, partially underdressed her, and had inappropriate sexual contact with her.
The girl told police that Hill instructed her not to tell anyone. When the girl said she was going to tell her mother, Hill covered the girl’s face with his hand. The girl said she asked Hill if he was trying to kill her. Hill said he was.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Hill with statutory sodomy or attempted statutory sodomy – victim less than 12 years of age.
Hill is a convicted sex offender, with a prior conviction for sodomy in November 1996.
