The former star of Discovery Channel’s “Sons of Guns,” Will Hayden, was indicted on multiple rape charges Wednesday in Louisiana.
An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted Hayden, 49, on three counts of rape involving two females, the Times-Picayune reported. The charges against him include two counts of aggravated rape and one count of forcible rape. If convicted of aggravated rape, he faces a mandatory life sentence.
Hayden is accused of raping two preteen girls, according to the Advocate. He is accused of raping a girl in East Baton Rouge beginning in March 2013, when she was 11 years old, until August 2014.
Additionally, a woman, who is now in her 30s, also came forward claiming Hayden raped her in the 1990s when she was 12 years old, the Advocate reported. She told detectives she was staying with Hayden’s family at the time of the alleged assault because her house had burned down.
In late August, Hayden was arrested as a fugitive and charged with aggravated rape. That marked the second time the Red Jacket Firearms founder was arrested that month. In early August, he was arrested on charges of child molestation and crimes against nature, but released on $150,000 bail.
The victim told police at the time that “the alleged acts occurred almost daily, but [the victim] didn’t report them because Hayden made threats,” according to CBS affiliate WAFB.
The reality star’s eldest daughter, Stephanie Hayden Ford, initially defended her father. However, in a September interview with Dr. Phil, she revealed her father had touched her inappropriately when she was 12 years old.
“I decided to appear on ‘Dr. Phil’ to tell my story exclusively because I know he would take it seriously,” Ford said in a statement to Fox News. “With my father now in jail, everyone in my family and in our company are now talking openly for the first time. I have nothing to gain from this exclusive interview, but to begin living in truth and getting help for myself and my sister. I just pray that our story will somehow prevent another victim from staying silent.”
