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• An Urbana man is being held in a Belmont County Jail after he was arrested on a charge that he raped a young girl near St. Clairsville.

Jason Dickerson, 36, of Urbana, is being held in the jail and is expected to face a preliminary court hearing this week, said Joe Hummel, Chief Deputy of the Belmont County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies began investigating after the 10-year-old girl's mother brought her into the sheriff's office in April and identified Dickerson as a suspect, Hummel said. Dickerson has what Hummel described as a "lengthy criminal history," but it was unclear Tuesday whether he has ever faced similar charges.

Deputies also had difficulty tracking Dickerson down because he uses six aliases, Hummel said.

Authorities believe the incidents began when the girl was 8 years old, and she had been molested several times. He said Dickerson was a relative of the family.

Hummel said his office does not usually see cases in which a girl that age has been molested.

"That young, you're starting to get into unusual territory," he said.