Sikeston police officer charged with sex crimes

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston Department of Public Safety officer was terminated Friday after being charged with rape and child molestation.

Brian Robinson, 32, was charged Friday morning with first-degree statutory rape, three counts of first-degree sodomy and one count of first-degree child molestation.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott said Robinson was arrested Thursday and charges were filed Friday morning. The investigation, being conducted by the Missouri Highway Patrol and Scott County Sheriff's Office, is ongoing.

Robinson is being held in the Scott County Jail.

"My understanding is the charges are from an alleged incident in 2006 or 2007," said Sikeston DPS director Jim McMillen, adding Robinson, who had been a DPS officer for nearly three years, was terminated Friday morning after DPS learned of the charges.

"We're committed when something like this comes up with one of our officers to do the right thing and be transparent about it," McMillen said.

McMillen added that DPS does an extensive amount of work when looking at prospective employees, adding they have one of the strictest application processes in the area.

"You can do all that and still miss things," McMillen said. "It's just unfortunate for something like this to happen."