Enterprise man arrested on rape, sodomy charges in Dale County

By Greg Phillips

Published: July 17, 2008

Dale County Sheriff’s deputies arrested an Enterprise man on Thursday for sexually abusing a young female relative, according to Dale County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Harvey Mathis.

Joe Allen McLendon, 29, is being held at the Dale County Jail on a $210,000 bond on charges of first-degree rape, sodomy, sexual torture and sexual abuse. The first three charges are Class A felonies, while the sexual abuse charge is a Class B felony.

“Sexual abuse would normally be a Class C felony, but because the alleged victim is under the age of 12, it is a class B,” Mathis said.

“The mother of the child was told by her daughter that she was having pain in that area,” Mathis said. “The mother took her child to the hospital and called the police department. That’s when we got involved and DHR got involved.”

According to Mathis, the abuse apparently took place at a residence on County Road 63 in Midland City, but other local counties are investigating the allegations as well.

“He was living with his parents in Enterprise when we arrested him. They have lived at several residences the last several years, including in Midland City,” Mathis said. “The child’s description in the interview process indicated some of the abuse had happened in Dale County. It also reportedly happened in other counties, and it’s still under investigation by those departments, but we focused on what happened in Dale County.”

Mathis said McClendon will make his first appearance before a Dale County judge today to discuss his bond.