courtesy of www.jacksongov.org
I’m thrilled! You should be too!
My close friend and former legislative seat mate, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, was appointed this morning by a Missouri circuit court judge to re-open Daisy Coleman’s case. Surely you’ve heard about Daisy via national and social media this past week – and how she was denied justice when she was 14 years old in an alleged sexual assault by a high school football star.
In January 2012, Daisy and her then 13 year old friend were allegedly raped by then-members of the Maryville High School Football team. Felony charges against the alleged attackers were later dropped. But two months later, all charges were miraculously forgotten. Even though their whole family was harassed by students and townspeople and their house mysteriously burned, Daisy and her mother did not give up.
The case has gained national and international attention since an article detailing developments to date appeared in the Kansas City Star earlier this month. Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert Rice was criticized by some who said the charges were dropped due to political pressure. One of the accused boys is the grandson of a once-prominent former GOP state representative
Amid that scrutiny, the Rice asked last week that a special prosecutor be named to look into the case. He also denies that his decision to drop the charges was politically motivated.
By this morning my petition on Credo Action “Demanding Justice for Daisy” has hit over 8600 signers in Missouri and throughout the country. We were urging the appointment of a special prosecutor and get on with justice.
I’m not alone in thinking Jean is the “Perfect Prosecutor” for Daisy Coleman.
The Kansas City Star today agrees:
JEAN PETERS BAKER WILL MAKE SURE JUSTICE IS DONE IN MARYVILLE
She should personally accept the job, as offered by a judge to her on Monday.
Look at it this way: Baker is not part of any, good-old boy system that is at the heart of what appears to have gone terribly wrong in the Maryville case, according to critics.
Instead, Baker is a woman, a hard-nosed prosecutor who helped pursue Bishop Robert Finn on accusations that he had failed to report suspected child abuse in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. A judge last year sentenced him to two years of probation for that charge.
And more to the point, here’s what Baker said after Finn’s sentencing:
“All of us are responsible for the protection of children. None of us should ever place on a child the responsibility for their own safety. That’s our job. That’s a leader’s job.”
So Baker has a special affinity for knowing that people in power can fail children, especially when it comes to sexual abuse.
In the Nodaway County case in Maryville, prosecutor Robert Rice last week had asked a judge to appoint a special prosecutor afterThe Star reported on a case involving two teenagers accused in the alleged sexual assault of Daisy Coleman, a then-14-year-old student.
The charges eventually were dropped, but concerns exist to this day that was because of political favoritism.
If Baker investigates the Maryville case and no charges are filed, that will be because it was too weak to prosecute.
But if she does move ahead with the case eventually, make no mistake: She will pursue it all the way and make sure justice is done.