Grace McAlister
Reporter1@riverbendnews.org
On Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, an 11-year-old girl reported to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) she had been molested when she was five or six years of age by 60-year-old Marshall Ray Russ, of Wellborn. A report from the SCSO explains the girl had woken up to Russ lying on top of her while he molested her. The victim further stated Russ sexually assaulted her to the point of causing her pain. This was reported to law enforcement and was also brought up during a forensic interview with the Child Protection Team.
The victim said she recalled this incident in detail, but stated it could have occurred at other times, as she was awoken on this particular occasion and may have been asleep if he assaulted her at other times.
Russ has also been investigated in the past after his now grown daughter reported she was sexually abused while being made to sleep with the suspect. She was reportedly nine years of age at the time and said it continued through her adult years. There are numerous reports documenting her reporting the incident. There are many similarities between the cases reported and the manner in which the abuse occurred.
On Thursday, Dec. 29, after a thorough investigation, Russ was transported to the Suwannee County Jail. He was charged with sexual battery on a victim under 12 years of age, and lewd lascivious behavior of molesting a child under the age of 12.