Area pastor charged with six sex felonies

Thursday, October 4, 2012

A California, Mo., man is free after posting bond on two felony charges totaling six counts.

According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, Travis Ray Smith, 42, California, was picked up in Morgan County at 5:56 p.m. Monday on warrants issued in Moniteau County Court.

Smith is also a church pastor in Stover.

The warrants were for felony sex charges filed from incidents alleged to have occurred in Moniteau County in 1998, 1999 and 2005 involving two separate victims.

According to court documents, one charge lists four counts that are alleged to have occurred between March 1, 1998, and February 1999 involving the same victim who was younger than 17 years old at the time of the incidents. The four Class C felony counts are forcible rape, second-degree statutory rape, sexual abuse and second-degree statutory rape. Three are alleged to have occurred in the Latham area.

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eileen10 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Common sense tells me this guy shouldn't be able to post bond and be free to do God knows what before he's locked up. All I needed to do was read between the lines to know he's guilty. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Some laws are far to lax and just downright scarey.