INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Willis Family Rape Hearing Rescheduled For Second Time, Toby Willis Remains Behind Bars

By Tara West
Published on: 10:38 PST, Oct 6, 2016

Many fans were shocked last month when The Willis Clan patriarch Toby Willis was arrested on charges of rape. The father-of-12 was accused of raping a female family member when she was between the ages of 9 and 12. Following the shocking arrest, Toby waived his rights to have a preliminary bond hearing and subsequently had his court appearance postponed on two separate occasions. The reality star remains behind bars as he awaits his new November court date.

The Tennessean reports that reality television father-of-12 Toby Willis has once again had his court appearance postponed. Willis was arrested on September 13, 2016, after a now-adult female family member reported that she was raped by Toby at a young age. The alleged rape took place 12 years ago when the family was in Nashville.

Following the investigation into the claims, police say that Toby Willis attempted to evade arrest by hitchhiking from Tennessee to Kentucky. However, police were able to locate the former reality star and bring him into custody. After the arrest, Toby declined his rights to a preliminary bond hearing which would have allowed a judge to weigh the evidence and potentially allow the father out on bail or throw out the case entirely if police did not provide enough evidence.

However, with Toby Willis declining the initial hearing, no evidence has made it into the public light. Willis was scheduled to reappear in court on September 21 but was postponed due to an absence by Cheatham County General Session Judge Phillip A. Maxey. The case was then rescheduled for October 5. Once again, the hearing was postponed with Willis not scheduled to return to court until November 2.

According to News Channel 5, Toby Willis has been told by police that he is not allowed to be near his biological children or his wife Brenda. Following the news of the arrest, Brenda Willis released a public statement noting that the family was cancelling all future concerts. Brenda also noted that the District Attorney’s office had her “complete support” with her focus remaining on her children.

“I was shocked and devastated by the revelation of events leading to Toby Willis’ arrest. As these are very trying times for the Willis family, I kindly ask all to respect our family’s privacy. As a mother of twelve, my first priority remains with my children and helping them through this traumatic event. We are cancelling all appearances for the foreseeable future to focus on the children and their well-being. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We have, and will continue, to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials and ask that you direct all inquiries regarding Toby Willis’ case to the District Attorney’s office who have our complete support.”

As the Inquisitr previously reported, this isn’t the first bit of shocking news that Willis family fans have dealt with this year. In fact, just a few months before the rape allegations were made to the police, Toby and Brenda’s oldest daughter Jessica abruptly quit the family band. Jessica was notable not on stage at a number of concerts and fans began questioning where the fan favorite had gone.

The family briefly responded to fans by noting that Jessica was stepping away from the band and that she would no longer be performing with the family. It was revealed that Jessica was working on other solo projects but no further details were provided.

With the rape allegations now taking a toll on the family, it appears that Brenda and the children will be working through the difficult time out of the public spotlight. Since the original public statement, Brenda and all of the Willis children have remained silent. All social media accounts were deactivated and the family appears to have removed themselves completely from the attention of media for the time being.

Though the Willis family is no longer on social media, Jessica Willis’ boyfriend still has an active Instagram account. The account has posted some cryptic messages that have many fans wondering if Jessica knows more about the rape than previously known. However, until Toby Willis appears in court and the police present their case against the disgraced reality star, everything is simply speculation.

Toby Willis is scheduled to appear in court on November 2 to enter a plea in the child rape case.

[Featured Image by Facebook/The Willis Family]

Share this article: Willis Family Rape Hearing Rescheduled For Second Time, Toby Willis Remains Behind Bars
More from Inquisitr