Monticello man charged in case of sex with minor
By Sean Rossman;
Democrat staff writer;
The Monticello man charged with manslaughter in the death of his 6-year-old daughter exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a 13-year-old girl, according to court documents.
David Russell Courson, 38, was arrested Jan. 20 on a manslaughter charge after a 13-year-old girl backed over his daughter, Rebecca Courson, with his Nissan pickup truck. Courson and his 8-year-old son were passengers in the truck at the time.
Investigators with the State Attorney's Office later found text messages between Courson and a 13-year-old girl from a cell phone found in the truck. In the texts, Courson discussed previous sexual contact with the girl and also talked about having sex with her in the future, according to court records.
The girl told investigators she exchanged texts with Courson, whom she called "Mr. Rusty" and that the two had had sex before, according to court documents.
Investigators were able to verify through Verizon that Courson was the subscriber for a telephone used as part of the text exchanges.
The girl told authorities she was at the Courson home spending the weekend with her friend, Courson's daughter, at the time of Rebecca's death.
She said Courson provided her and Courson's daughter alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana. She added that Courson had let her drive his truck on several occasions, according to court documents.
Courson's attorney, Tim Jansen, said his client denies the accusations.
Courson was charged with lewd and lascivious battery and solicitation of a minor on Feb. 17. He has been in the Jefferson County Jail since Jan. 20 when he was placed under $350,000 bond. Courson was ordered held without bail for the solicitation of a minor charge Monday, Jansen said.
Jansen said he is considering appealing that decision.
An arraignment is set for March 3