Missouri man admits to having sex with 8-year-old and feeding her meth

A man from Union, Missouri, reportedly engaged in sexual activity with an 8-year-old girl and forced her to eat methamphetamine, local authorities said Wednesday.

The suspect has been identified as Brett Pendleton. The 48-year-old reportedly rented a room at a motel for him and the 8-year-old girl on Monday.

Local police said the abuse was discovered after the girl told her mother about the alleged incident and was rushed to the hospital. There, medical staffers called the police. According to Washington Police Det. Sgt. Steve Sitzes, the girl was treated and has since been released.

RELATED: Most outrageous mugshots and crimes

Sitzes told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the girl was given permission from her mother to visit Pendleton, who is reportedly related to her. Pendleton first took the girl to his girlfriend's home in Union and then took her to his motel room.

The police sergeant said the mother had been in contact with her daughter via text messages, but she began to worry when she stopped hearing from her. She eventually left to search for her daughter and later found Pendleton's vehicle outside of the motel.

When the mother entered Pendleton's motel room, police said the girl motioned to her mother to come with her into the bathroom.

SEE ALSO: Wisconsin father gets 6 months in jail after beating 2-month-old daughter, breaking bones

There, the girl confided to her mother about the sexual acts she said Pendleton made her engage in. She also said Pendleton forced her to eat methamphetamine, and smoke marijuana and cigarettes.

"As you can imagine an 8-year-old on meth, not a sight you see every day," Sitzes told the outlet. "She was very fidgety, very amped up."

According to KTVI, evidence collected in the motel room matched the girl's statements.

While in police custody, Pendleton admitted to both having sexual contact with the girl and rolling up methamphetamine in toilet paper to feed to her.

Pendleton was charged with sodomy and endangering the welfare of a child on Tuesday and is currently being held in the Franklin County Jail on a $250,000 bail.

RELATED: Most famous US crime trials over the past 25 years