A St. Joseph resident is facing a charge of Statutory Sodomy against a child under the age of 12.

Santiago Avalos, 40 is charged in Buchanan County with a felony for statutory sodomy stemming from incidents that allegedly took place in 2015.

According to court documents, sometime between Jan. and Dec. Avalos is accused of using the child’s hand to perform sexual acts on himself on several different occasions and rubbing his penis on the child’s genital area. The child was reported to have been around the age of 9.

“The defendant is a legal United States citizen but is capable to go back to his home country, Mexico at any time,” said Det. Briana Mendell.

Avalos is being held on $55,000 bond.  An arraignment is set for June 21.