Past conviction factors into guilty verdict in molestation case

A Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court jury convicted Kendrick Lamarr Tipler, 35, of Cape Girardeau of first-degree child molestation stemming from an incident in 2013.

The conviction followed a two-day trial at the courthouse in Jackson, which ended Thursday and for the first time locally included evidence of a past conviction, Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said.

Tipler was accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2013.

At trial, assistant prosecuting attorney Julia Koester presented the testimony of the victim, now 13, who described the sexual abuse, Limbaugh said.

“Cases of this kind are often very difficult to prosecute due to the fact that, often times, it is simply the word of the victim verses the word of an adult,” Limbaugh said in a news release.

To aid prosecution of such cases, Missourians voted to amend the state Constitution in 2014 to allow evidence of a defendant’s prior acts of sexual abuse with other victims.

This was the first case in Cape Girardeau County where such evidence was used, according to the release.

The jury heard testimony Tipler previously pleaded guilty in 2006 in Stoddard County Circuit Court to the felony offense of endangering the welfare of a child.

“Hopefully, this will send a message to those who [prey] on children that prosecutors now have this very powerful tool to use any and all of their prior acts of sexual abuse against them in a single prosecution,” Limbaugh said.

Judge Benjamin Lewis set sentencing for Nov. 17. Tipler faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the release.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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