Sheriff Scott Childers of Ray County, Missouri, has been removed from office due to allegations of willful misconduct and neglect of duties. The Missouri Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, filed a quo warranto petition, arguing that Childers forfeited his office by allowing pretrial detainees to leave the Ray County Jail without court authorization and to perform labor at his home and the homes and businesses of his friends and supporters. The court found that Childers’ actions violated Missouri law and constituted official misconduct, resulting in the automatic forfeiture of his office.
The Missouri Highway Patrol was at the Ray County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, 2024, to conduct a criminal investigation and served Childers with his charges. According to Captain Dusty Hoffman of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, “the Division of Drug and Crime Control received a request from the Missouri Attorney General to investigate the Ray County Sheriff.” The court has ordered Childers to cease all activities and authority as Sheriff of Ray County and barred him from entering the Sheriff’s office or the Ray County Courthouse.
The petition filed by AG Bailey alleges that Childers has allowed detainees to drive vehicles, make purchases at local stores, leave the State of Missouri, and generally move about Ray County without proper supervision. Documents filed with the state allege that Childers has allowed released detainees from the Ray County Jail to work on his property and the property of friends and received or accepted a benefit in exchange for keeping pretrial detainees in the jail. Childers has been removed from office and following Missouri State Statutes, Ray County Coroner Bart Willim will serve as interim sheriff.
To avoid conflicts of interest, the Supreme Court of Missouri ordered Associate Circuit Judge Daren L. Adkins to be transferred from the 43rd Judicial Circuit (Daviess County) to the 108th Judicial Circuit (Ray County) to preside over the case.
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