WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A Wichita Falls man in the Army is charged with sexually assaulting a young family member for several years and apologizing to her on Snapchat, but also offering her $1,000 to have sex with him again.

William Joseph Melton, 22, was booked into jail Thursday just over a year after Wichita Falls police were notified of possible sex crimes against a child and almost two years after CPS had conducted an investigation at the home.

Melton is charged with aggravated sexual assault with a bond set at $75,000.

Police were notified about an outcry from a 12-year-old girl at a home on Lawrence Road in January last year.

The girl’s aunt told police the girl came to her and told her of long term sexual abuse by Melton, her half-brother, from age 7 to 11.

The victim told her aunt the last assault happened a month before Melton left for Army basic training at Fort Sam Houston in 2020 when he was 18 years old.

The day police were notified, the victim’s aunt told police Melton was back in Wichita Falls on Christmas leave, and the victim told them just before he had come home, he had offered her $1,000 to have sex again, which police say was corroborated by a Snapchat screenshot.

Police were also shown another Shapchat screenshot to the victim from Melton in which he said he was deeply sorry for what he had done, and his excuse was that he was “drunk and horny.”

The screenshot shown to police of the Snapchat conversation also showed Morton said he had considered suicide, and that he deserved “whatever comes to me” and he could never forgive himself.

Police scheduled a forensic interview with the victim while Melton was still on leave, and she said she believed Melton had begun touching her inappropriately at age 6, and at age 7 began sexually assaulting her, and gave detailed accounts of some of the assaults, including having her legs tied to the bed post with a rope.

Police said because of the extended time and number of alleged assaults, the girl could not give an exact number of the assaults and other sex acts he forced on her.

She also said after CPS did an investigation from December 2019 to April 2020, that her grandparents put locks on her and Melton’s doors and no further assaults occurred.

A WFPD juvenile crimes detective traveled to interview Melton at Fort Sam Houston in January 2021 but said Melton refused to speak with him, and requested an attorney.