A former Tina-Avalon R-2 physical education teacher accused of having sexual contact with a student entered a plea of not guilty in the Associate Division of Carroll County Circuit Court Wednesday. Twenty-five-year-old Preston McMullen of Smithton was continued to June 16th. McMullen has been charged with the felonies of sodomy or attempted sodomy—first degree, statutory […]
A Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court for transporting a Kansas minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity. Nathan Roger Belcher, 31, of Carl Junction, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 12 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Belcher to serve 20 years on […]
(Missouri Independent) – Lawmakers slammed the Department of Social Services on Thursday for underreporting the number of substantiated cases of abuse and neglect at youth residential facilities during a previous legislative hearing. For nearly an hour-and-a-half on Thursday, the House Special Committee on Government Oversight pressed DSS officials on why the number of findings of […]
A change of venue was sustained in Division One of Daviess County Circuit Court on May 6th for a Pattonsburg man facing multiple sex-related charges involving minors. Seventy-three-year-old Steven Dale Lawrence’s case was transferred to Caldwell County. Lawrence faces first-degree felony charges of sodomy or attempted sodomy, second-degree, third-degree, and two counts of fourth-degree child […]
A case has been bound over to Division One of the Linn County Circuit Court for a Brookfield man charged with 33 counts of felony possession of child pornography—first offense. Forty-four-year-old James Dean Jackson waived a preliminary hearing on May 6th. He is to appear for an arraignment in Division One on June 8th. Jackson […]
A former paraprofessional at Blue Springs High School pleaded guilty in federal court to producing and distributing child pornography. Steven B. Allen, 45, of Independence, Mo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography over the internet. Allen, who has been […]
A two-day jury trial has been scheduled in Linn County for a Meadville resident accused of inappropriately touching a child less than 12 years old at a Meadville daycare. The trial will begin on November 16th for 18-year-old Leeroy Nickell. A pre-trial conference is set for October 5th. Nickell waived formal arraignment and entered a […]
A Unionville man has been charged in Putnam County after allegedly dropping his three-month-old daughter on her head three times. Twenty-seven-year-old Tyler James Hurt faces felony abuse or neglect of a child—serious emotional or physical injury—no sexual contact. Bond was set at $25,000 cash only, and an initial appearance in court is scheduled for May […]
A soldier in the Army National Guard pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually abusing four minors over several years while he was the youth ministry director at Fort Leonard Wood U.S. Army Base. David J. McKay, 42, of Waynesville, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of transporting […]
Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy + Health Center is pleased to announce that Madison Troyer of Chillicothe has been hired as the center’s Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS). Serving in this role, Mrs. Troyer has the opportunity to provide women a first glimpse of the child developing inside them. “Being able to see the instant […]
Missouri KidsFirst presented the 2021 Standing with Children Awards at a virtual event hosted by the organization at 12:00 PM on Monday, April 26, 2021. The 2021 recipients of the Standing with Children Awards are Laura Bauer and Judy Thomas, investigative reporters with the Kansas City Star, Dr. Linda Shaw, child abuse pediatrician with SSM […]
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office and Chillicothe Police Department have announced plans to operate out of the same building. Sheriff Steve Cox and Police Chief Jon Maples brought the plans to the city administrator and county commission, and the plans are moving forward. The goal date for moving is May 10th. The Chillicothe Police Department […]
An Iowa woman pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to hate crime charges for attempting to kill two children because of their race and national origin. According to admissions Nicole Poole Franklin, 42, made during the hearing, on the afternoon of December 9, 2019, Poole Franklin was driving her Jeep Grand Cherokee on Creston Avenue […]
A report of an unattended child at Springhill and McNally Street in Chillicothe the morning of April 22nd led to a female being transported to the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail pending local charges. Assistant Chillicothe Police Chief Rick Sampsel says officers went to the location, attempted to locate a parent, and located a woman who came […]
(Missouri Independent) – After hours of fierce debate that spanned the course of two days, the Missouri House on Wednesday signed off on a prohibition on transgender students participating on the sports teams that match their gender identity. The provision, offered as an amendment by Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, to House Bill 1141 was adopted by a vote […]
A Milan man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party earlier this month has been charged with four felonies. Twenty-four-year-old Zakaria Zouon faces charges of second-degree statutory sodomy, first-degree rape or attempted rape, second-degree rape, and second-degree statutory rape. Bond was set at $75,000 cash only. A probable cause statement from Sullivan County […]
Life Options Green Hills Pregnancy and Health Center of Trenton provides free and confidential services to residents in the nine-county Green Hills area. Services include pregnancy testing, limited first trimester ultrasounds, and pregnancy, prenatal, and parenting education. Executive Director Rachael Brothers says the center also provides a fatherhood education program. She explains that […]
The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control announces the arrest of Chester Scott Burress, 61, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri for the sexual trafficking of a child. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Division of Drug and Crime Control’s Digital Forensics Investigative Unit and the […]
The Missouri House has voted unanimously to expel Lee’s Summit Representative Rick Roeber. The House Ethics Committee released an investigative report this week about allegations that Roeber, a Republican, abused his four adult children when they were younger. It says two of the children were allegedly sexually abused and two others reported being physically abused. […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri House Ethics Committee voted unanimously on Monday to recommend Rep. Rick Roeber be expelled from the Legislature. The committee, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, said evidence obtained over the course of its four-month investigation confirmed Roeber had sexually abused two of his children in 1990 when they […]
