Grand Jury Indicts Former 'Sons of Guns' Star William Hayden

Former “Sons Of Guns” star Will Hayden, arrested for multiple counts of rape earlier this year in two Louisiana parishes, is now facing the possibility of multiple life sentences after being indicted on multiple counts by an East Baton Rogue grand jury.

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Former “Sons of Guns” reality TV star Will Hayden was charged Wednesday by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury with raping two preteen girls — one recently and another more than 20 years ago.

The indictment followed similar allegations from Livingston Parish that led a grand jury there in early November to charge Hayden, 49, with raping in 2013 the same girl he’s accused of molesting recently in Baton Rouge.

The Livingston Parish grand jury also charged him with sex crimes against his oldest daughter and former “Sons of Guns” co-star, Stephanie Hayden Ford, who in September went on the “Dr. Phil” show to talk about the incident she said occurred about 20 years ago.

Ford said on the show that her father walked into her bedroom one night while drunk many years ago and began pinching and kissing her while trying to disrobe her. Ford said she escaped and he never touched her inappropriately again.

Attempts on Wednesday to reach Hayden’s attorney, C. Frank Holthaus, were unsuccessful.

Each of the three charges of aggravated rape carries with it a mandatory life sentence. Hayden also faces charges of forcible rape, which carries a sentence of 5-40 years.

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The two unnamed victims were 11 and 12, respectively, when they were allegedly raped.

Hayden was the public face and the supposed owner of Red Jacket Firearms, LLC, in the reality television series “Sons of Guns” on the Discovery Channel. In reality, Hayden did not own the company, and the Federal Firearms License (FFL) for the company was actually held by other corporate officers. The company quickly severed all ties with Hayden after his arrest, and continues to build firearms and firearms accessories.

Stephanie Hayden Ford and her husband Kristafor Ford face their own legal problems, after both were arrested when Mr. Ford spanked Mrs. Hayden Ford’s child from a previous relationship with a belt hard enough to allegedly leave bruising that resulted in child abuse charges.

 

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