Former Holts Summit man pleads guilty to child abuse

Oren Williams
Oren Williams

A former Holts Summit resident pleaded guilty Monday to felony abuse of a child.

Oren Williams, 29, of Centertown, was arrested June 26 after a joint sheriff's office and state of Missouri Children's Division investigation. On Monday morning, he appeared in court for a pretrial hearing in advance of a trial scheduled for Wednesday. At the time, he faced two charges: the aforementioned charge and felony victim tampering, to which he had pleaded not guilty on Oct. 26.

Following Williams' withdrawal of his not-guilty plea to count one, the Wednesday trial has now been cancelled and a final disposition and sentencing hearing has been scheduled at at 9 a.m. May 29, according to Missouri Casenet.

"On count one, the State will be recommending five years in the Missouri Department of Corrections," assistant Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Miller said.

Additionally, the victim tampering charge has been dismissed by the State.

Callaway County Judge Jodie Asel ran down a brief list of questions with Williams.

"Are you pleading guilty to the charge because you are, in fact, guilty?" she asked.

"Yes," Williams replied, nodding.

On June 20, a Children's Division investigator requested the assistance of Deputy Nicholas Jensen in investigating a potential case of child abuse, Jensen reported in a probable cause statement. The investigator, Jensen stated, said she received a hotline report alleging Williams broke a child's arm.

Jensen and the investigator interviewed the child at an elementary school, according to the statement. Medical records confirmed the child's right humerus was broken.

Jensen said the child claimed Williams threw the child over a baby gate from the kitchen to the living room. The minor also said Williams ordered the child to "stop crying" or he would make the child's arm "worser," Jensen reported.

According to the probable cause statement, a witness told Jensen the incident took place June 17. Jensen also reported two witnesses and the child told investigators Williams instructed them not to inform anyone about "what happened to (the child)."

The statement also said Williams admitted to Deputy Jeff Harding he threw the child over a baby gate and told the two witnesses and the child not to tell anyone.