FLORA—A volunteer firefighter for the city of Flora has been arrested and charged with a serious sex crime.
Lance W. Collins, 41, of Flora, was arrested on Tuesday, March 5, after a warrant was issued. The warrant was issued after a charge was filed in Clay County circuit court alleging Collins committed Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a Child with additional circumstance of the perpetrator (allegedly Collins) being more than 5 years older than the victim.
The charge came after March 4 complaint was filed by or on behalf of the victim, who is said to be the teenage daughter (reportedly age 15, although that was not verified by authorities as of press time) of Collins’ girlfriend/fiancé.
It’s unclear who actually made the complaint, the mother or the girl; neither of them were listed in the charges by name.
However, it’s specified in the terms of any bonding Collins might get around to doing that if he bonds out, he must have no contact with the girl, her mother or her father.
As of press time (March 11), Collins remained jailed in Clay County lockup, held on a $50,000 cash bond.
Collins is still listed as a firefighter on the City of Flora’s Fire Department roster of volunteer firefighters. It was unknown as of press time how long Collins had been with the city fire department.