West Plains, MO. – A Hillsboro man was arrested last week on charges of molesting a friend’s child in Howell County.
Gregory Keith Coleman, age 26, was arrested by the Howell County Sheriff’s Office on July 19, 2023, on a grand jury indictment warrant for two counts of 2nd-degree child molestation and two counts of statutory sodomy, both with a child less than 12 years of age.
According to the probable cause statement, a female child was interviewed by the Child Advocacy Center where the child described where and how Coleman would touch her vagina with his hands. The victim also described an incident where the accused would perform oral sex on her and how he would molest her with his penis while at her father’s residence in Howell County.
Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office interviewed the victim’s mother and the victim’s babysitter. Both told the investigator how the child described Coleman touching her with his hand and the mother said the child had told her about the oral sex abuse.
Coleman has pled not guilty to the charges and remains in custody at the Howell County Jail with a $100,000 bond.
