A Slater man goes before a Saline County judge the afternoon of Wednesday, June 4 for his preliminary hearing on a rape charge.

32-year-old Thomas Lee Gibbs Jr is accused of raping a girl who was less than 12 years old at the time of the incident, believed to have happened in a Gilliam apartment between 2014 and 2016. According to a probable cause statement, the victim told investigators at a Columbia children’s emergency shelter in April 2024 that her mother would allow different men to abuse her in exchange for drugs. During an investigation by the Pettis/Cooper County Children’s Division, the victim recounted an incident at the apartment in Gilliam where she, her younger brother and mother had lived. The victim then accused Gibbs of assaulting her while she was watching cartoons. The statement goes on to note that the victim identified Gibbs in a photo line up last September.

Gibbs was arrested in May by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office and charged with one count of first-degree rape. He remains behind bars on a $250,000 cash-only bond.