FARMINGTON, MO (Show Me Live) – A St. Francois County jury has found 57-year-old Jeffrey Sawtelle guilty of statutory rape in the first degree and statutory sodomy in the first degree, according to St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Blake Dudley. The decision was made on Thursday, February 27th after a two-day trial in Farmington.
In 2022 the minor female child victim found the courage to come forward to authorities and report being raped by Sawtelle, her step-grandfather, in 2019, when she was 13 years old. Following her initial disclosure to family, the child reported further details to Park Hills Detective Summer Bess. Within days she was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center, where she provided a detailed account of the sexual assault.
At trial, the survivor, now 19, described how Sawtelle had entered her bedroom, covered her mouth to muffle her cries for help, and proceeded to rape her. Afterward, as he was leaving, he threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone. Following her initial testimony, the young woman remained unwavering under extensive questioning by Sawtelle’s defense attorney.
Both the survivor’s mother and Detective Bess would later testify as to the course of the disclosures ultimately resulting in the charges. The expert testimony of Forensic Interviewer, Samantha Harris, assisted the jury in understanding the delayed disclosure process, explaining that such delay would not be uncommon for a 13 year old child, violently sexually assaulted by an adult family member, under a threat of death.
This was her second sexual assault trial in two weeks. Judge Patrick King presided over the trial. Formal sentencing by the court is scheduled for May 5, 2025. Sawtelle faces sentences of between five years and life imprisonment on each of the two charges.