Sikeston man arrested after allegedly kidnapping, sexually assaulting girlfriend

Sikeston, Missouri, police are investigating a suspicious incident in which a 31-year-old woman told police she had been held against her will for three weeks, sexually assaulted and forced to consume an illegal substance by her boyfriend.

An investigation led to an arrest Friday of Sikeston resident Kenneth James Bramlett, 41, on 11 felony charges including kidnapping, sodomy or attempted sodomy, promoting prostitution, sex trafficking and domestic assault.

A probable-cause statement written by Sikeston Department of Public Safety detective John Nelson stated the woman had been dating and having an “ongoing sexual relationship” with Bramlett since October. Since then, Bramlett had become “extremely violent” while using illegal drugs, Nelson wrote in the statement. When the woman attempted to leave “on several occasions,” Bramlett beat her and “told her he would kill her if she tried to leave him,” Nelson wrote.

The statement details the woman’s account of several instances of sexual assault including “numerous occasions” in which Bramlett allegedly drove her to other locations including Poplar Bluff, Cape Girardeau and Southern Illinois to “allow other men to have sex with her for money.” Bramlett also allegedly posted nude photographs he had taken of the woman on social media to “offer her services for sex or money,” Nelson wrote.

In a Tuesday news release, the Sikeston DPS stated officers first responded to a suspicious incident at a Quick Chek convenience store, 1801 E. Malone Ave. That’s when officers found a woman “visibly shaken” who stated she had been held against her will for three weeks by her boyfriend, who she identified as Bramlett.

Nelson stated Bramlett was in the process of leaving the state when he was arrested.

According to Sikeston DPS, Bramlett is being held in Scott County without bond, and officers are attempting to identify two men who took part in the forced sexual activities.

Anyone with information may contact the Sikeston Department of Public Safety at (573) 471-6200.