Noel man sent to state sex offender unit
Apr. 11—A Jasper County judge sent a 31-year-old man from Noel to prison Monday on a conviction in the endangerment of a 7-year-old girl from Duenweg.
Jeremy L.W. Robertson had pleaded guilty to the reduced charge Jan. 30 in Jasper County Circuit Court in a deal calling for a five-year sentence with the possibility of the term being served at the state's sex offender assessment unit. The defendant originally faced more serious counts of statutory sodomy and child molestation.
Judge Gayle Crane accepted the plea deal and assessed Robertson the prison time with a court review after 120 days for possible placement on probation.
The conviction stems from charges filed in February 2022 after an investigation by Duenweg police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol of a complaint made by the girl's mother.
The girl disclosed during an interview at the Children's Center in Joplin that Robertson, who was residing in Carthage at the time, had been sexually abusing her and telling her not to tell her mother, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
