SALISBURY — A Rowan County man has been charged with statutory rape after deputies said that he fled from the county shortly after a report was filed against him.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office originally received a report regarding a sexual assault against a minor child by Salisbury resident Michael Wayne Benson, 45, on Oct. 10, said Captain Mark McDaniel, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

Benson then “disappeared to Davidson County” shortly after the report was filed, said McDaniel.

Investigators with the Special Victims Unit investigated the case and reportedly obtained evidence establishing probable cause to charge Benson, who was reportedly located back in Rowan County on Nov. 27. He was arrested and charged with one county of indecent liberties with a child at that time and placed in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $50,000 bond.

While he was incarcerated, deputies interviewed Benson and received information that led them to charge him with additional charges of first-degree statutory rape and incest against a child who is at least six years younger, said McDaniel.

Benson received an additional $300,000 bond with the additional charges and is currently being held at the detention center while awaiting his next court appearance.