ECLECTIC - A 24-year black male Joseph James Stepney has been charged with rape first for an incident that occurred at the Rosewood Apartments in Eclectic on Thursday evening, October 16.

Stepney, who lives in the Eclectic Villas near Rosewood Apartments allegedly raped a 21-year old female around 5:30 p.m..

"The offense occurred while she was house-sitting for her aunt at the residence," said Eclectic Police Sergeant Tim Phillips.

Stepney was also charged with failure to register as a convicted sex offender after moving here from Tacoma, Washington.

"We will be looking at charging him under that statute sometime between now and Grand Jury. Just because the computer says so, doesn't mean that that conviction is necessarily there," said District Attorney Randall Houston.

Stepney is currently being held in the Elmore County Jail under a $110,000 bond for rape first and a $10,000 bond for failure to report as a convicted sex offender.