Ray County, Missouri (November 6, 2025) – Former Ray County Sheriff Scott Douglas Childers, 46, has been federally indicted on six felony counts alleging repeated violations of civil rights and falsification of an official report while serving in office. The charges, filed October 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, accuse Childers of physically assaulting multiple individuals and falsifying a report to conceal one of those incidents.
According to the indictment, Childers faces five counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of falsifying records. The alleged acts occurred between spring 2022 and February 2024, during his tenure as sheriff. Prosecutors claim Childers used excessive force on several occasions, targeting detainees and inmates who were restrained, nonviolent, and posed no threat. Each civil rights count carries a potential penalty of up to ten years in prison, while the falsification charge carries a possible twenty-year sentence.
The indictment outlines a pattern of behavior that prosecutors describe as abusive and unconstitutional. In one instance from November 2022, Childers is accused of grabbing a handcuffed pretrial detainee by the throat, resulting in injury. Another incident in February 2024 allegedly involved Childers pushing, shoving, and striking an arrestee who was confined in a holding cell. Two separate counts stem from a May 2023 encounter with an individual whom Childers allegedly arrested without probable cause and then assaulted during the arrest. A fifth count describes an episode in the spring of 2022 in which Childers allegedly pulled a handcuffed inmate from a vehicle, threw him to the ground, placed his knee on the inmate’s back, and ground his face into the ground.
The final count accuses Childers of knowingly falsifying a Ray County Sheriff’s Office incident report to cover up his use of force during the February 2024 encounter. Prosecutors allege he fabricated statements suggesting he entered the detainee’s cell to offer a blanket, when in reality, he entered for the purpose of using force. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says this false report was intended to impede and obstruct a federal investigation.
Current Ray County Sheriff Gary Blackwell issued a public statement following the indictment, calling the charges “deeply troubling” and reaffirming his department’s commitment to transparency and integrity.
“The actions alleged in the indictment, if proven true, are a serious breach of public trust and a betrayal of the oath every law enforcement officer takes,” Blackwell said. “The public’s confidence in our office depends on our daily commitment to fairness, professionalism, and respect for the law.”
Childers appeared for arraignment this week in federal court in Kansas City, where he entered a plea of not guilty and was released on bond pending trial. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ketchmark of the Western District of Missouri. The investigation is being led by the FBI Kansas City Field Office.
If convicted on all counts, Childers could face up to 70 years in federal prison and fines exceeding $1.5 million.
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