A Dayton man has been charged with raping a 4-year-old girl repeatedly over a 14-month period.

A Dayton father and grandfather approached Dayton Police Department Investigator Darrell Bell on March 9. They said the 4-year-old girl had told them that day that a relative had touched her sexually "10,000 times," Bell said.

The investigator sent the girl to the Children's Advocacy Center in Chattanooga for a forensic interview. The girl described for the interviewer how the man had raped or sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions at his home in Dayton, Bell said.

Bell learned that the man's wife had served as the girl's regular babysitter while her parents were at work during the day.

When Bell interviewed the man, James Gross, 26, of Oak Street, he denied having any sexual contact with the girl. Gross, reportedly a deacon in his church, agreed to take a polygraph test.

Lt. Susan Blaine, a certified polygraph technician with the Chattanooga Police Department, administered a polygraph test to Gross on April 20. Blaine reported that Gross "failed miserably," according to Bell.

During a second interview on May 5, Gross admitted to having sexual contact with the girl on nine different occasions between Jan. 5, 2005, and March 9, 2006. He gave a detailed account of the incidents, which all reportedly occurred early in the morning before his wife and young son were awake. He told the girl not to tell anyone or they would get in trouble, Bell said.

The Rhea County Grand Jury issued an original indictment against Gross on June 5 for three counts of rape of a child, three counts of incest and six counts of aggravated sexual battery. He was arrested on the charges on Friday.

Gross is currently free from the Rhea County Jail on $20,000 bond and faces a July 20 preliminary hearing in Rhea County General Sessions Court. He is under court order to stay away from the girl.

Rape of a child is a Class A felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

The victim is now receiving counseling.

John Carpenter can be reached at jcarpenter@xtn.net.