Republican Accused Of Abusing His Children Denied Membership In House GOP Caucus

By Jason Hancock, from the Missouri Independent:

December 14 2020

Rick Roeber, the Republican elected to the Missouri House while facing allegations by his adult children that he physically and sexually abused them when they were young, will not be allowed to caucus with his party when the legislative session begins next month.

Roeber will be sworn into office next month, and the allegations against him will be investigated by the House ethics committee.

“Our House leadership team takes the troubling allegations against Rep.-elect Rick Roeber very seriously and we have decided he will not be a member of our caucus at this time,” incoming House Speaker Rob Vescovo, incoming Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann said in a joint statement released Monday afternoon.

“When the 2021 legislative session commences in January,” the statement said, “the House Ethics Committee will conduct a thorough investigation of the accusations made by his children. We will await the committee’s recommendations for the next steps to take in this matter.”

The House has the authority to expel a member with a two thirds vote. Short of that, Roeber’s exile from his party’s caucus could eventually translate into House leadership refusing to allow him to serve on any committees or allow any bills he files to progress through the legislative process.

Last month, three of Roeber’s children — Anastasia Roeber, Samson Roeber and Gabrielle Galeano — sent a letter to Vescovo detailing the allegations and pleading that Roeber be prevented from serving as a state representative.

In October, The Kansas City Star reported that Anastasia, Roeber’s adopted daughter, said he made improper sexual advances toward her in 1990, when she was 9 years old.

Her sibling, Samson, told The Star he was physically abused by Roeber as a child. The third sibling, Galeano, said she was aware of the abuse against both Anastasia and Samson.

Their mother, Michelle Keller, who was once married to Roeber, told The Star — and previously testified under oath — that Anastasia told her she was molested by him in 1993.

Roeber was also accused of sexual abuse by a fourth sibling, who was not named by The Star, in a case that was investigated by the Jackson County office of the Division of Family Services in 2001.

That investigation found probable cause that “sexual maltreatment” of the child had occurred, The Star reported, but two years later the Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board overturned the finding.

Missouri law says records of the board’s deliberations are confidential, so the basis for the decision is not clear.

Roeber, who’s district includes parts of Lee’s Summit and surrounding areas in Jackson County, has vehemently denied the accusations of abuse, pointing to the state’s decision to argue he was exonerated.

He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday’s decision.

The Missouri Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization covering state government, politics and policy. It is staffed by veteran Missouri reporters and is dedicated to its mission of relentless investigative journalism that sheds light on how decisions in Jefferson City are made and their impact on individuals across the Show-Me State.