A Missouri man has been found to be a “sexually violent predator,” admitting to abusing more than a dozen people nationwide.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) says a jury in northeast Missouri’s Marion County has found 38-year-old Norman Tucker III to be a “sexually violent predator”.
Judge David Mobley has signed an order committing Tucker to the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) for care, control and treatment.
Hawley says Tucker was arrested in 2004 for first degree statutory sodomy. Hawley says Tucker pleaded guilty to one count of statutory sodomy in 2004.
The Attorney General says that when questioned by authorities, Tucker revealed that he had abused more than a dozen people before he was caught, including a three-year-old boy in California, an 80-year-old Florida woman, an 11-year-old boy in north Missouri, and a two-year-old girl. Hawley says Tucker also admits victimizing two Colorado boys and his girlfriend’s ten-year-old daughter.
Hawley’s office tells Missourinet that Tucker is originally from the Philippines, and has lived in Hannibal. That’s in Marion County.
Tucker has also lived in Colorado and California, according to Hawley’s office.
Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) spokesman David Owen tells Missourinet that Tucker was incarcerated in the DOC in September 2004 for statutory sodomy from Marion County. Owen says Tucker was discharged and released to the custody of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department in February 2014.
Then Attorney General Chris Koster’s (D) office filed a petition to civilly commit Tucker as a sexually violent predator in 2014.
“Thanks to local law enforcement officers, our attorneys and the men and women of the jury who made this important decision, Norman Tucker will no longer threaten Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens—children and the elderly,” Hawley said in a news release. “My office will always maintain a strong commitment toward ensuring the safety of all Missourians, and this decision demonstrates just that.”
Hawley says expert witnesses testified at trial that Tucker suffered from pedophilia.
