JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A Joplin man has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and given a suspended sentence in a case involving the alleged sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl.
The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/T5Mzrm ) that as part of a plea agreement 44-year-old Geoff Gilstrap pleaded guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to a misdemeanor count of sexual misconduct. He had been charged with a felony count of first-degree child molestation.
Gilstrap was accused of sexually abusing the child more than once in 2009.
Associate Circuit Judge Richard Copeland gave Gilstrap a one-year suspended sentence and placed him on supervised probation for two years.
Gilstrap also has to complete a sex offender treatment program and will be required to register as a sex offender.