Roy Holt, who was arrested last Friday on charges of solicitation of murder for hire, told Carterville's WSIL-TV that he would never hurt the 16-year-old girl or have any one else hurt her.

The Georgia girl was unharmed, authorities said.

Perry County Sheriff Keith Kellerman says Holt wanted the girl dead because she reported being sexually assaulted by Holt to Georgia authorities. Kellerman said there is evidence that Holt is the father of the girl's child.

But Holt told WSIL he doesn't remember whether he had sex with the girl because he had been drinking.

Kellerman said Holt asked a family friend to kill the girl, providing a gun and instructions about where to dump her body.

In Georgia, the Seminole County Sheriff's Department's Dale Swanner said Holt's possible sexual contact with the girl was being investigated. The girl has been taken into protective custody in Georgia, Swanner said.

Perry County and Du Quoin authorities said they began investigating Holt a day before his arrest after learning he allegedly hired a hit man, paying him with cash and/or the promise of land.

Kellerman said Holt has family and property in the area where the girl lives. The girl has no connection to Du Quoin, Kellerman said.

Holt remains jailed on $250,000 bond on the felony murder-solicitation count, which carries a possible 20- to 40-year prison sentence.