ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis County jury convicted Wednesday a man who worked as a security guard for the Hazelwood School District and St. Louis Charter Schools for engaging in sexual acts with an underage girl.
In August 2020, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Dexter Wade, now 40, with one count of first-degree statutory rape, three counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, one count of enticement of a child, and one count of second-degree statutory rape.
These incidents occurred between Aug. 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017, while Wade worked as a guard for the Hazelwood School District. He worked in the district from October 2013 to November 2016. Wade then went to work for St. Louis Charter Schools from November 2016 through August 2017.
According to court documents, detectives from the St. Louis County Police Department’s Bureau of Crimes Against Persons launched an investigation in 2020 after the victim reported that Wade had inappropriate contact with her.
Authorities learned Wade performed sex acts on the victim before and after she turned 14. Detectives discovered Snapchat messages that corroborated the sexual contact between Wade and the victim. The messages detail how Wade presented initially presented himself as a father figure to the victim and even told the teen he could see them having children in the future.