An ex-couple has have denied charges of drugging and raping a child as one of their attorneys have claimed they were coerced into the foul acts by their ex-partner
A TV star who featured in a swingers reality show has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges of drugging and raping a child, possessing child sexual abuse material and bestiality.
Tony McCollister, 43, who starred in the 2015 show “Neighbours with Benefits” and Erica Grove have both plead not guilty to the dozens of charges related to vile accusations. On Wednesday the former couple appeared before Judge Robert Peeler in Warren County, Ohio in the US.
According to jail and court records McCollister was taken into custody December 23 and remains held in the Warren County Jail on a $250,000 cash-only bond. Grove – McCollister’s former partner – appeared alongside her attorney Ed Perry in court. In a bombshell accusation Perry claimed Grove was coerced by her former partner to do numerous of the vile acts she stands accused of.
McCollister has been barred from having contact with anyone younger than 18 or any animals. Warren County Sheriff Barry Riley has revealed what has happened to the animals the couple have been accused of abusing. The Sheriff explained the animals “are being exceptionally cared for.” But he declined to reveal what led to the investigation into McCollister or when it was opened.
According to a criminal complaint, on or about November 23 McCollister “knowingly possessed and uploaded child sexual abuse material to his Google account” and “knowingly engaged in sexual conduct with two canines owned by Tony McCollister.” Attorney Ed Perry has spoken in court and said: “Erica is, in fact, a victim here.”
The attorney strongly refuted claims Grove sexually assaulted a young girl. He pointed to evidence showing graphic texts between Grove and McCollister related to the sexual assault charge and added the messages were sent to appease McCollister.
Perry said: “Those messages were attempts to cope with a very difficult situation, being a victim as she was, and/or to placate her abuser, Mr. McCollister.”
Prosecutor David Fornshell has said the investigation discovered evidence McCollister and Grove drugged and raped a young six-year-old girl. According to authorities, child sex abuse material was also found involving the same girl.
Fornshell said: “Just when we thought that sex with the dogs was going to be the most horrific part of this case, the detectives discovered evidence of the drugging and raping of a little girl.
“I’m sitting in a room full of people who investigate and prosecute child sexual abuse cases on a daily basis. We’re reviewing the evidence, and it’s just silence. It’s really difficult to even process.”
Grove has been hit with 24 charges. These charges include four counts of rape, one count of corrupting another with drugs, five counts of gross sexual imposition. Alongside these she has been hit with eight counts of illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance, two counts of endangering children and four counts of sexual conduct with an animal.
Both McCollister and Grove remain in custody as the case continues. The pair are due to enter their pleas at the Warren County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday (February 4).