Man Faked His Own Death To Escape State Rape Charges

A military veteran and Purple Heart recipient pleaded guilty to sending a false distress call, illegally shipping weapons across state lines, and giving false information to escape state charges in Mississippi, accusing him of repeatedly raping and impregnating his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Jacob Blair Scott pleaded guilty to charges of sending a false distress call that led to a Coast Guard search, illegally shipping weapons across state lines, and giving false information.

A federal judge will sentence Scott in November. In June, a Mississippi jury voted to convict him of sexually assaulting a girl and impregnating her when he was 40 and she was 14.

He was sentenced to serve 85 years in prison in Mississippi on the state conviction on nine counts of sexual battery, four counts of touching a child for lustful purposes, and one count of child exploitation.

Scott was out on bond on charges of assaulting the girl when he faked his death in July 2018. The Orange Beach Police Department responded to a call for assistance and found a small boat about a mile away from shore in the Gulf of Mexico with a gun tied to it. The dinghy was empty except for a suicide note. Authorities searched for a body for more than a week in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Coast Guard spent $17,165 on the search for Scott, who was living under another name in Oklahoma.

For more on this story, please consider these sources:

  1. Man Who Faked Death Gets 85 Years for Sexual Assault of Teen – US News and World Report
  2. Alabama: Man admits faking death to avoid sex abuse charges – USA Today
  3. US: Man fakes death to avoid sexual abuse charges – WKND