Brixey man charged with 2023 rape of minor

Chevy Mahan, a 21-year-old Brixey man, faces charges of rape stemming from an incident in November 2023.

According to the probable cause statement written by Ozark County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Matt Rhoades, he and Deputy Gannan Moss were on patrol Nov. 25, 2023, when they responded to report of a rape in Brixey.

Rhoades wrote that Deputy Josh Sherman arrived at the scene before he and Moss arrived, placed the female victim, a minor, in his patrol vehicle and conducted an initial interview with her.

The victim alleged that Mahan raped her while she was sleeping on the floor in his room. The report says that she stated that she did not consent to any sexual activity, and when she woke up, Mahan stopped and went downstairs. 

Lt. Rhoades wrote that he secured Mahan in the rear seat of his patrol vehicle and interviewed the others in the residence.

According to the probable cause statement, Mahan’s father said the victim stayed overnight after a gathering on Friday and she had gone to Mahan’s room to hang out but “all doors were kept open per house rules. [The father] reported no knowledge of the incident until informed by his wife…after which he confronted [his son].”

Mahan’s mother said she was awake until about 2 a.m. Saturday, watching Christmas movies downstairs, wrote Rhoades, and she had last seen Mahan and the victim around 8 p.m. Friday when they returned from a gathering in Gainesville and went upstairs. She told Rhoades that when she went to bed, she observed Mahan asleep in his bed and the victim asleep on the floor. She said when she was informed of the allegation she confronted her son and he denied it.

According to the probable cause statement, a second man who also resides in the home with his wife and daughter said he went to bed about midnight and woke up at 10 a.m. Saturday and was unaware of the incident until he was informed.

Rhoades wrote that the man’s wife said she woke up at 6 a.m. to attend to the victim’s grandmother next door. “She heard Chevy go downstairs to the bathroom and return upstaires, where he began playing a shooting game on his TV. She did not see him or the victim during this time.”

After interviewing the individuals at the residence, Rhoades took Mahan into custody and transported him to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office. After being read his Miranda rights and acknowledging that he understood them, Mahan provided a statement.

According to the probable cause statement, Mahan said he returned from the Gainesville gathering around 8 p.m. Friday and went to his room to play video games. He said the victim came to his room around 8:30 p.m., sat on his floor with her phone and mentioned drama on Discord, a social media app. 

“Chevy stated she fell asleep on the floor, fully dressed in jeans and a hoodie, around 11 p.m. He watched a zombie movie, fell asleep around 2 a.m., and woke up at 8 a.m. He went downstairs for approximately 10 minutes, spoke with [another male] and returned upstairs, where the victim was awake and on her phone. He resumed his movie, and she left the room. Chevy denied touching the victim.”

According to the filed probable cause, the victim was transported to Ozarks Healthcare in West Plains where a rape test kit was conducted by a nurse. Based on physical evidence and her interview with the victim, the examining nurse believed the victim’s account. 

The rape kit was collected by Deputy Moss and sent to the Missouri Department of Public Safety Forensic Lab for analysis.

A Child Advocacy Center interview was conducted with the victim on Nov. 27. During that interview, the victim reiterated her account of the alleged rape. According to the probable cause statement, she also added that Mahan had offered her marijuana the previous night (Nov. 24, 2023), which she smoked before passing out.

Because of the victim’s age at the time, the Department of Family Services was contacted. A social worker was briefed on the incident and the department conducted an independent investigation.

Mahan is charged with first degree rape or attempted rape, an unclassified felony. Because the charge is unclassified, there is no set range of punishment. Punishments are generally structured specifically for the crime and often results in significant prison time.

As of presstime, Mahan remained in the Ozark County Jail. He was scheduled to appear before Judge Raymond Gross in Ozark County Associate Court Tuesday morning. Results of that hearing were unavailable at presstime.