Free Republic

MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Conflicting stories, the fog of underage intoxication and the disappearance of cellphone video of an alleged Missouri sexual assault two years ago led a special prosecutor to reach the same conclusion as the initial prosecutor in the case: There simply wasn't enough evidence to gain a felony conviction. Appointed in October to re-examine high school student Daisy Coleman's claim that an older schoolmate raped her in January 2012 when she was 14, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker charged Matthew Barnett with one misdemeanor count of child endangerment Thursday. The charge stemmed from Barnett, a 17-year-old...

The whole world is watching Maryville, Missouri. The Daisy Coleman case is international news.  It's a story of a girl assaulted and discarded by a privileged boy, only to be attacked by a town that rallies around a powerful, corrupt politician. But as this story unfolded, there were cracks that many weren't really talking about, either from the raw emotional response to the story or because they just didn't dare question the narrative out of fear. While they don't disprove Daisy's story and it's possible what she claims is the truth, these cracks need to be discussed, as an entire...

In the October 12 article, "Nightmare in Maryville: Teens’ sexual encounter ignites a firestorm against family," Kansas City Star reporter Dugan Arnett told the story of Melinda Coleman. According to the article, Coleman's daughter Daisy was raped at the hands of Matt Barnett, grandson of Rex Barnett, an influential Republican and former state legislator. Allegedly, because of that political power, not only were the charges against Barnett dropped, but the Colemans were targeted and harassed. The article also suggests Melinda was fired from her job at Southpaws Vet Clinic because she dared to cross the Barnetts. However, according to Dr....

A northwest Missouri prosecutor announced Wednesday that he's asking for a special prosecutor to look at the case of a 14-year-old girl who says she was plied with alcohol and raped by a 17-year-old acquaintance. Melinda Coleman, the mother of 14-year-old Daisy Coleman, claims justice was denied when Nodaway County prosecutor Robert Rice dropped felony charges against the 17-year-old boy last March, two months after Coleman found her daughter passed out on the family's front porch in below-freezing temperatures. The county sheriff and Rice have insisted their investigation collapsed after the Colemans became uncooperative with investigators and refused to answer...