NEOSHO, Mo. – A Neosho man pleads guilty to Child Molestation (3rd Degree).
Judge Jake Skouby sentenced David M. Cox, 19, to 15 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections today. A jury trial was set to take place next week, however, Cox’s guilty plea cancels that trial. Cox will get 413 days credit for time served.
In the Fall of 2021, a juvenile victim told a forensic interviewer at the Children’s Center in Joplin, Missouri that the victim had been forcibly molested by Cox. The crime happened multiple times between the summer of 2017 and the summer of 2020. The victim was between the ages of 11 and 14.
According to the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, David Cox turned 17 in February 2020, giving the criminal court jurisdiction over the matter. In Missouri law, 17-year-old individuals are considered adults in most cases.
The case was originally prosecuted in Newton County, Missouri. However, there was a change of venue to McDonald County.
The 15-year sentence is the maximum sentence allowed under law for Child Molestation in the Third Degree.
“David Cox will spend hard time in the Department of Corrections. In cases like these, we are charged with balancing justice for juvenile sexual assault survivors against the trauma of repeatedly having to re-live their experience through testifying,” said Newton County Prosecuting Attorney William Lynch. “We remain cognizant of how difficult the criminal justice system can be on survivors while also doing our best to hold criminal defendants accountable.”
This case was investigated by Officer Matt Hixson previously of the Granby Police Department and prosecuted by William Lynch and J.D. Hatcher of the Newton County Prosecutor’s Office
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