The Missouri Supreme Court has been asked to resolve “peculiarities” in the rules of criminal procedure that have left it uncertain if a man properly appealed his 135-year sentence for child molestation.

Tagged with: child molestation Missouri Supreme Court topnews

Where a defendant argued that a trial court erred when it refused to sever resisting-arrest and gun charges from child-molestation and statutory rape charges, the sex offense charges provided the basis for the state to bring the other charges and ...

Tagged with: child molestation Severance

Defendant appealed from his conviction for burglary, child molestation and assault, challenging the sufficiency of evidence at trial. Where the homeowner had revoked defendant’s right to come and go from the home as he pleased, his entry into the home ...

Tagged with: child molestation Sufficiency Of Evidence

Defendant appealed his conviction for first-degree child molestation. On appeal, defendant argued that the trial court erroneously rejected his double-jeopardy argument, erred in instructing the jury in that evidence was adduced of multiple acts that could each individually support defendant’s ...

Tagged with: child molestation Multiple Acts Instructions

Defendant appealed from his convictions for various sexual abuse crimes against two victims. Defendant argued that the trial court erred in precluding evidence that the victims had been abused by someone other than defendant and erred in denying his motion ...

Tagged with: Age of Child Victim child molestation

Defendant pleaded guilty, in accordance with a plea agreement, to two counts of child molestation and was sentenced to two concurrent 10-year sentences. Defendant unsuccessfully filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when ...

Tagged with: child molestation ineffective assistance of counsel

Defendant appealed from his convictions for statutory sodomy, child molestation, sexual misconduct involving a child and victim-tampering. On appeal, defendant challenged the trial court’s orders relating to certain evidence pertaining to the victim. Defendant further challenged his sentence for his ...

Tagged with: Challenge to Sentence child molestation

Where a defendant in a child-molestation case challenged the admission of the out-of-court testimony of an investigator, the trial court did not err in declaring the investigator unavailable and in admitting her 491 hearing testimony because she disclosed that she ...

Tagged with: 491 Hearing child molestation Out-Of-Court Testimony

Where a defendant in a child-molestation case challenged the admission of the testimony of a witness regarding prior incidents of uncharged child molestation that allegedly occurred decades earlier, the testimony corroborated the victim’s testimony and was admissible propensity evidence, and ...

Tagged with: child molestation Propensity Evidence witness testimony

Where a defendant in a child-molestation case argued that the trial court plainly erred in failing to declare a mistrial sua sponte after the prosecutor made a statement in closing argument that speculated about the possibility that the defendant might ...

Tagged with: child molestation Closing Argument Future Acts

Where a defendant challenged his conviction for class A first-degree child molestation, the defendant was convicted under Section 566.067, which specified that the molestation was part of a “ritual or ceremony” defined as an act or series of acts performed ...

Tagged with: child molestation Criminal Law Multiple Abusers ‘Ritual or Ceremony’