Local man faces rape, incest charges after fathering 7 children with adoptive daughter

A 71-year-old Gainesville man is facing multiple felony charges, including child rape, sexual abuse and incest, after authorities allege he impregnated his 15-year-old adoptive daughter and later married her, going on to have six additional children with her over two and a half decades.

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by MSHP Cpl. Dakota Nash, the officer was contacted by Ozark County Sheriff Cass Martin on Sept. 16, 2025, about a conversation he had with a woman who reported that Edward Britt had sexually abused her and her cousins when they were children. 

That woman, identified as victim #2 in the document, told the Times that she reached out to MSHP about the case to follow up on her initial reports to the OCSD. 

An initial conversation 

She told Nash that when she was 9 years old (in 1991), she lived with Britt and his wife, who was her biological aunt, at their Gainesville home. 

She said there were five children living at the home at the time. In addition to herself, other children residing in the home included her cousin, identified as victim #1 in the document; Britt’s oldest  biological daughter, identified as victim #4 in the report; and two sons Britt and his wife adopted (one identified as victim #3 in the report).

Britt reportedly legally adopted victim #1 as his daughter, which made him victim #1’s father. All of the named victims are now grown adults in their 40s.

Victim #2 told Nash that she and victim #1 are related, as their moms are the sister of Britt’s now ex-wife (who is their biological aunt and Britt’s wife in the 1990s).

During the interview, Nash was told that the girls endured rape and sexual abuse from the time they were children, and Britt’s adoptive daughter was impregnated when she was 15 years old with his child. The cousin said in July 2000, at age 16, the girl gave birth to Britt’s baby at a local hospital, and her family told everyone in the community that the father of the baby was an over-the-road trucker.

Victim #2 said Britt was aware that she knew the truth - that he was the father of her teenage cousin’s child - because of what she had witnessed over the years. She said he threatened to kill her if she told anyone. Despite the threat, victim #2 said she told both her counselor and her aunt (Britt’s wife at the time) that he had raped her cousin and sexually abused her. She said she reported the abuse at least three times from 1991-94; however, she said nothing was done about it. 

In 2003, three years after victim #1 reportedly gave birth to Britt’s baby, Britt divorced his wife and moved to Mountain Home, Arkansas, with his adopted daughter and their biological baby. 

Five years after that, Britt married his adoptive daughter. A marriage license presented to Nash showed that Britt and the woman were married in Faulkner County, Arkansas, in 2008. 

Obtaining DNA samples

Nash reported that as he was investigating the case and reviewing information he’d been given, he discovered that Britt, his adoptive daughter/wife and their child were living in Ashland, Mississippi.

“I worked with the local prosecutor and an investigator with the attorney general’s office in Mississippi, attempting to have the warrants served in Mississippi for Edward’s, Victim #1’s and [their child’s] DNA,” Nash’s report says. “Before I could obtain warrants in Mississippi, the Mississippi prosecutor informed me Edward and victim #1 moved back to Missouri.”

That made the case easier to investigate, and on Feb. 3 of this year, Nash applied for search warrants for the DNA of Britt and victim #1 (his adoptive daughter/wife) through a mouth swab. A judge granted those warrants, and Nash executed them the next day, obtaining the DNA samples from both the man and woman. 

“During the warrant execution, I spoke with Edward and explained why I was there and what the search warrant was for. Edward stated it was all [expletive] and complied with the search warrant and provided his DNA,” Nash wrote. “I also obtained victim #1’s DNA and explained to her why I was there... Victim #1 stated she was Edward’s legally adopted daughter, and she was impregnated by Edward when she was 16 years old. Victim #1 stated they started having sex when she was 15 years old. I asked Victim #1 how her and Edward were able to get married, and she stated she just showed her driver’s license, and they were allowed to get married in Arkansas.”

Nash said the woman told her that she never said anything to anyone because Britt would get mad, and she was scared of him. 

She said since that time, Britt had fathered a total of seven of her children, and none of the children knew the truth about their parents’ past. The woman said that Britt had controlled and manipulated her for her entire life. 

Nash gave the woman his phone number and told her that she should contact him if she ever felt unsafe or if she needed any help while they were waiting on the DNA results to be returned, the report says.

The victim reaches out

The next day, on Feb. 5, around 1:15 p.m., the woman called Nash at his office. “She was obviously upset and seemed extremely nervous. I asked her how I could help her, and she stated Edward left to go to town. [She] said this was the first opportunity for her to talk to me without Edward being around,” Nash wrote. 

“During the phone call, she stated he was back, and she had to get off the phone. A few minutes later, she called me back and stated it was not him, and she still had some time to talk to me.

She told the officer that Edward started sexually abusing her when she was 10 years old, and that there used to be videos of the abuse. She said another minor child [identified as victim #3] was also involved, and Britt made the other victim have sex with her, filming it several times when she was approximately 10-13 years old. She said Edward also continued having sex with her, eventually getting her pregnant when she was 15 years old.

Britt is arrested

After the phone call ended, Nash contacted Sheriff Cass Martin and asked him to go to the residence where Britt and the victim lived so he could detain the man and transport him to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department for questioning. 

Meanwhile, Nash “immediately traveled to where [victim #1] was located to interview her. Sgt. Roddy and Sgt. Tyrell assisted me and were present for the interview with victim #1. Sheriff Martin, Deputy Lane and Deputy Moss contacted Edward and transported him to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department, where he was placed in the holding cell until I arrived to interview him,” Nash wrote. 

The woman gave the officer a detailed report of the abuse that she endured over the years from the time she was 10 years old, the report says. She said she was raped daily, and he told her he would kill her if she ever told anyone. 

“Victim #2 and victim #1’s statements were very consistent,” Nash noted. “Victim #1 stated her and victim #2 confided in one another, and they both knew what Edward had done to each of them including abuse to another child [identified as victim #4 in the report].” The woman told the officer that as children she, victim #2 and victim #4 tried to come up with a plan to run away from Britt. 

Nash indicated that Britt, his wife and their children have lived in several states including Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. 

“Victim #1 stated this was due to Edward not wanting to get caught by the law, so he could keep her to have sex with. [She] said everywhere they went, children’s division and law enforcement were questioning their relationship and their children,” Nash wrote. 

Questioning 

After speaking with the victim, Nash went to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department to interview Britt, with Sgt. Roddy and Sgt. Tyrell present in the interview room. The report says that the interview began at 4:27 p.m. that day, and Britt was read his rights and signed that he understood them. 

“I asked Edward to walk me through the allegations against him. Edward said he and victim #1 had sex, and it was not right. Edward said victim #1 was 15 1/2 when they had sex one time, and she got pregnant. I told Edward that I was told something different, and he said whoever told me that was a liar. Sgt. Tyrell asked Edward is victim #1 was a liar, and Edward said victim #1 was not a liar, and she has never lied to him. We explained to Edward the allegations came from victim #1. Edward stated he didn’t believe us,” Nash said in his report. 

The officers then reportedly played an audio recording of what victim #1 told the officers. “Edward said if that’s what she said, then he agreed with her because victim #1 wasn’t a liar. We asked him if he had sex with victim #1 when she was 10 years old, and Edward said yes, if that’s what she said. 

He then asked about a specific sexual act that victim #1 said happened when she was 10, and Britt reportedly said he had engaged in that act with the girl when she was 10 “once or twice that he knows of.”

Children living in the home

Nash further explained to the judge in his statement that he believed a warrant for Britt’s arrest was needed because the two victims said Britt told them he would kill them if they ever told anyone about the abuse.

Nash also wrote that “Edward Britt has a clear sexual interest in children and is a danger to the community and every child he meets.”

That concern is heightened because when officers arrived at his residence Feb. 5, there were three children living there with him including a 3-year-old girl. 

Charges filed

Britt is charged with rape of child younger than 14 (unclassified felony), forcible sodomy (class A felony), statutory sodomy (class C felony) and incest (class D felony). 

Although there are four victims listed in the probable cause statement and decades of alleged abuse, the complaint form filed in the case indicates that the charges are directly related to rape and other sexual abuse of victim #1 that occurred on Sept. 3, 1999, and July 17, 1999, indicating that evidence and testimony will likely support those specific instances, although the entirety of the allegations may be mentioned in court. 

Britt has remained in jail since he was first arrested on Feb. 5 and is being held without bond. He was arraigned Feb. 9.

Bond reduction hearing

He is scheduled to return to court before Associate Judge Raymond Gross at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, for a bond reduction hearing. The Times has been told that family members and friends of the victims are planning to attend that hearing to show support and hope that he will not be granted pre-trial release.