Christian County Prosecuting Attorney: JAMES NORMAN HARPER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON IN CHILD MOLESTATION CASE, JUDGE SETS MINIMUM TER ...

Press release from the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney:

December 28, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: PROSECUTING ATTORNEY’S OFFICE Kristen Tuohy, 1st APA Shana Mora. Sr. APA 417-581-7915

DATE: December 28,
2021

DATE: December 28,
2021

JAMES NORMAN HARPER SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN CHILD MOLESTATION CASE, JUDGE SETS MINIMUM TERM BEFORE ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE AT 300 YEARS

OZARK, MO – Christian County
Prosecuting Attorney Amy Fite announces that on December 22, 2021, James Norman
Harper was sentenced to life imprisonment for the child molestation of a five-year-old
child.

On August 11, 2021, James Norman
Harper (40) was found guilty of child molestation in the second degree by a
Christian County jury. At trial, the defendant’s neighbor testified that she was
babysitting the defendant’s five-year-old stepson when she observed the child
sexually acting out. The child later disclosed to the neighbor, “Daddy does
this to me” and “I don’t like it.”  The
neighbor later made a hotline call.  In
response to that hotline call, the Division of Children’s Services and the
Christian County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate.  The child was forensically interviewed the
following day at the Child Advocacy Center in Springfield, Mo.

Before the sentencing hearing,
the Honorable Judge Laura Johnson found the defendant to be a predatory sex
offender under Missouri Revised Statute 566.125. Under this statute, a person
with certain prior convictions for sexual offenses can become eligible for an
extended term of imprisonment. Judge Johnson found that the defendant had a previous
felony conviction for child molestation in the first degree for a 1998 offense
involving another five-year-old child. Based on this prior conviction and his
current finding of guilt by a Christian County jury, as a predatory sexual
offender the defendant was sentenced to a life sentence as required by 566.125
RSMo.

Additionally, per 566.125 RSMo
the minimum term a defendant must serve prior to becoming eligible for parole
consideration is set by the sentencing judge. 
Per this statute, based on defendant’s conviction, a judge may set this
at any term of years not less than 15 years.

The Honorable Judge Johnson
sentenced the defendant to serve a life sentence in the Missouri Department of
Corrections and set the minimum sentence he must serve before becoming eligible
for parole consideration at three hundred years (300) for child molestation
second degree.

The case was prosecuted by
Christian County Senior Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Shana Mora and First
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Tuohy. 
The rest of the team assigned to this case included Cathryn Ables,
Victim Advocate, and Suzanne Frakes, Legal Assistant.  The Christian County Sheriff’s Office
investigated the crime.  Sarah Spurlock
was the lead investigator assigned to the case. The Christian County Sheriff’s
Office was assisted by Detective Jason Marcum from the Springfield Police
Department.

###

This press release was produced by the Christian County Prosecuting Attorney. The views expressed here are the author’s own.