A judge in Jefferson City has declared Missouri’s Child Abuse Act is unconstitutional. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan says the law doesn’t adequately protect the rights of people whos names have been placed on a list of suspected child abusers. Callahan made the ruling in the case against Heartland Christian Academy, in which four people were placed on a registry of suspected child abusers by the state after spanking two children enrolled in the school. Though none were convicted of child abuse crimes, they weren’t able to get their names removed from the list. Callahan ruled the law failed to adequately safeguard the due process rights of those included on the list.
