FARMINGTON, MO (Show Me Live) – After a two-day trial, a St. Francois County jury found 57-year-old Lawerence Kloeppel guilty of statutory sodomy in the first-degree after 20 minutes of deliberations. The St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says Kloeppel faced charges following a 2020 disclosure by the then seven-year-old female victim describing a series of sexual assaults committed by Kloeppel in the home of the child’s adult relative.
At trial, the child, now 12 years old, bravely took the stand in open court and testified before the twelve jurors and Kloeppel. The state followed by playing the recorded interview of the child conducted at the Child Advocacy Center, supported by the expert testimony of Forensic Interviewer, Samantha Harris. The court permitted the State to complete its evidence by submitting proof of Kloeppel’s prior misdemeanor convictions for sexual abuse second degree in 1989 and sexual misconduct second degree in 2017 from Butler County, Missouri.
Circuit Judge Wendy Horn presided over the trial. Formal sentencing by the court is scheduled for April 25, 2025. Kloeppel faces a sentence of between ten years and life imprisonment.