Supreme Court Orders New Trial for Man in Molestation Case

The State Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a northwest Missouri man convicted of molesting his three-year-old daughter. It’s the first time the Court has ruled on the handling of hearsay evidence from victims of child molestation in the wake of recent federal rulings. The Court says rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court since 2004 have held that a defendant has the right to cross-examine witnesses against him. The Court says Samuel Justus’s daughter did not testify at the trial but the judge did allow a videotaped statement from her and testimony from experts who interviewed her. The Court has overturned Justus’s ten-year prison sentence and has sent the case back to Daviess County for a new trial.