Pattern of Harm

Joplin, MO – A 4-year-old boy’s testimony at a preliminary hearing concerning the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend was enough to convince a judge to order the boyfriend to stand trial.

Associate Judge Joe Hensley decided at the conclusion of the hearing in Jasper County Circuit Court that there was probable cause for Adam J. Duncan, 28, of Joplin, to stand trial on two counts of child abuse. The judge set Duncan’s initial appearance in a trial division of the court for April 2019.

Duncan is accused of abusing the son of his girlfriend, Haley K. Simpson, 26. The boy was taken to a Joplin hospital Dec. 2018 with bruising to his head, thighs and the backs of his hands.

Police and state child abuse investigators subsequently determined that Duncan allegedly struck the boy several times Dec. 2018 when his mother allowed him contact with her son. The boy testified at the hearing that Duncan wrapped his hand in cloth and hit him several times, seriously bruising the side of his head.

A second count of the offense pertains to toilet training of the boy in May 2018 when he purportedly was spanked with a bare hand whenever he failed to make proper use of the toilet. The punishment left finger-shaped bruises on his buttocks and waistline, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
Simpson, who also was charged with two felony counts of child abuse pertaining to the incidents in December and May, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of child endangerment on March 2019 and received a suspended imposition of sentence and probation.

We are sick of seeing Judges giving probation and delayed sentences to people who abuse children. What message does that give to child predators?