St. Petersburg man, 76, accused of raping teenage relative for several years

ST. PETERSBURG — A 76-year-old man is accused of repeatedly raping a teenage relative over several years.

Billie Joe Hester of St. Petersburg was arrested Wednesday on three counts of sexual battery of a child under 12. No bail was set.

The victim, now 15 years old, recently told her parents about the abuse, police said.

The girl's parents confronted Hester in a phone call recorded by police earlier this month in which Hester admitted sexually abusing the girl, police said.

Hester said the first rape happened because the girl was watching pornography and asked about some of the images she saw, said police spokesman Mike Puetz. Hester said he was demonstrating to help her understand what she had seen, Puetz said.