Missouri’s Attorney General has said in a court motion that it was “completely improper” for a judge to release from jail a southwest Missouri couple charged with abusing girls at a reform school. Boyd and Stephanie Householder were placed on house arrest after a hastily called court hearing. They face multiple counts of […]
Tag: abuse
Vaccine hesitancy in Missouri is more complicated than just party affiliation
This article is a commentary. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, staff, management, or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – No doubt, what is happening to sections of our state is absolutely heartbreaking. Currently, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is […]
Gladstone man indicted for producing and distributing child pornography
A Gladstone, Missouri, man was indicted by a federal grand jury for producing and attempting to distribute child pornography. Joshua Paul Goodspeed, 45, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. The indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Goodspeed on June 21, 2021. […]
Three from Kansas charged in Linn County with accessory to child neglect resulting in death
Three Kansas residents have been charged in Linn County with being an accessory to abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death stemming from July 2018. Each defendant had a bond set at $50,000 cash only for 63-year-old Sabrina Marie Nemmers of Arma, Kansas, 32-year-old Matthew Blunt of Mulberry, Kansas, and 36-year-old Ashley Dawn […]
Endangered fish, leaching ash ponds: Environmental groups oppose Missouri coal plant permit
(Missouri Independent) – For years, Lisa Zerbe said she biked, rode horses, and ran near Ameren Missouri’s largest coal-fired power plant in Franklin County because she “naively believed” state environmental regulators were protecting citizens from pollution. Now, she won’t. “It is truly a disheartening feeling of betrayal from an agency in my younger years I […]
Audio: Three charities to benefit from the Mid-America Music Festival
Three charities will benefit from the Mid-America Music Festival in Trenton on July 16th and 17th. The Black Silo Foundation chose to support Camp Rainbow, the Green Hills Animal Shelter, and the North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center. Festival Team Member Andrea McKown says one way the charities can raise money at the festival is […]
Missouri Supreme Court: State can’t charge attorney fees for Sunshine Law requests
(Missouri Independent) – In a win for transparency advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government agencies cannot charge for time attorneys spend reviewing public records that are requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. In a 6-0 decision, the judges ruled that a lower court erred by siding with Gov. Mike Parson in a lawsuit […]
Governor Parson signed four bills into law on Tuesday afternoon
Governor Mike Parson signed four additional bills into law on Tuesday afternoon. SB 36 – Capitol Complex Tax Credit: Creates a $10 million tax credit for rehabilitation or renovation of buildings in the Capitol Complex. SB 57 – Funding for Criminal Behavior Deterrence: Creates the Economic Distress Zone Fund, which provides funding to nonprofits that […]
Chillicothe police respond to calls of suicidal individuals, investigate report of child abuse
Chillicothe Police report the Friday through Sunday weekend period included 262 calls for service plus the usual traffic stops and business checks. Investigations involved two situations allegedly involving individuals who were said to be considering harm to themselves. Two drug arrests were made following a traffic stop. Among reports from Friday, Chillicothe Police investigated a […]
Audio: North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center brings a focused response to child abuse
The North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center was founded in Trenton in 2003. Development Coordinator Amanda White says there needed to be a more localized, focused way to respond to child abuse. Former Grundy County juvenile officer Cathie Smith helped found the center. White explains the center interviews children who have been through trauma. […]
Texas man sentenced to 40 years in prison for running child obscenity website
A Texas man was sentenced in the Western District of Texas to 40 years in prison for multiple obscenity crimes involving children. Thomas Alan Arthur, 65, of Terlingua, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 21, 2021, of three counts of trafficking in obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of a child, five […]
Macon man charged in Linn County with 118 counts of child molestation, sodomy and rape
A Macon man has been charged in Linn County with 118 felony counts related to child sex crimes. Fifty-four-year-old Kenneth Harper’s charges include multiple counts of child molestation, statutory sodomy, and statutory rape, stemming from 1996 to 2010. An arraignment is scheduled for June 23rd. The court ordered that the probable cause statement be kept […]
Versailles man arrested on Grundy County warrant for failure to appear in court
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Versailles man on June 16 on a capias warrant for failure to appear in court. Fifty-nine-year-old James Leon Baker’s original charge in Grundy County was felony failure to register as a sex offender. He posted bond in Morgan County of $5,000, 10% cash approved. He […]
Chillicothe Police Department busy with assault at water park, person that was “lost and confused,” and arrests on Alexander Street
Chillicothe Police officers took reports of an assault at the Chilli Bay Water Park, an apparently lost and confused person in the 700 block of Elm Street, and a disturbance in the 1400 block of Alexander Street on June 15. Assistant Police Chief Rick Sampsel says two juveniles assaulted each other at the water park, […]
Two from Chillicothe charged with multiple counts of child abuse
Two Chillicothe residents have been charged with three felony counts of abuse or neglect of a child following a house fire in Chillicothe in January. Twenty-seven-year-old Donnie Clay Matheson’s charges involve serious emotional or physical injury. The bond for Matheson and 26-year-old Heather Louise Woods is $15,000 cash only, no surety for each. Probable cause […]
Missouri officials call for support and protection of elders
Each year, an estimated 5 million older adults are abused, neglected, bullied, or exploited. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations, to unite communities around the world to raise awareness about elder abuse. […]
Missouri lawmakers passed a host of reforms aimed at keeping kids out of jail
(Missouri Independent) – Retired St. Louis Judge Evelyn Baker once sentenced a 16-year-old Black boy to 241 years in prison for two armed robberies. No one was seriously injured in the robberies, but the boy “didn’t express any remorse,” Baker said, remembering the sentencing hearing. Now, when she thinks back, Baker deeply regrets the sentence […]
Woman charged with murder of newborn child has trial re-scheduled
A jury trial has been re-scheduled in Harrison County for a Kirksville woman charged with first and second-degree murder after a child death investigation in May 2020. Twenty-nine-year-old Makuya Stephanie Kambamba’s case was removed from the trial docket for the week of July 26th, and it is now scheduled to start October 5th. This came […]
Lawmakers condemn recent surge of antisemitism, call on leaders to act
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) along with Senators Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and James Lankford (Okla.) introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning recent antisemitic incidents in the U.S. and around the world. The resolution also calls on leaders to denounce antisemitism and take specific steps to address it and prevent it. “The recent rise in acts of […]
Four plead guilty to multi-state dogfighting conspiracy
Four defendants pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting and conspiracy charges for their roles in an interstate dogfighting network across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. The Honorable John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Judge in Richmond, Virginia, accepted the following pleas: On June 1, Odell S. Anderson Sr., 52, of the District […]