Cole County man faces child molestation charges

A Cole County man is facing a charge of first-degree child molestation for an incident that occurred in August 2016.

Orville Stegeman, 77, was arrested this week, according to a Cole County Sheriff's Department probable cause statement.

The victim was a then-12-year-old female relative, and the incident occurred at Stegeman's home, according to the statement.

The victim told authorities she was asleep and awoke to find Stegeman touching her inappropriately. She said she was scared and, when she sat up, Stegeman stopped touching her. She sent a text message to her mother that night to come and take her home.

She told her mother what happened, but it wasn't until recently she felt she could disclose what happened to her.

When investigators spoke to Stegeman, he admitted to being in the victim's bedroom and said he did touch her.