West Plains, MO. – A St. James man has been criminally charged in a case involving the sexual incitement of a Dora teen earlier this year.
Kenneth Bradley Quin Arnold, age 34 of St. James, Missouri, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk – 1st offense – no sexual conduct for, according to the probable cause statement, the sexual incitement of a 16-year-old girl in March 2023.
The PC statement says that a member of the Ozark County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the girl who stated she had been texting a 30-year-old male trying to meet her for sex. According to the child, she had contacted the man via a female paraprofessional who worked at her school. It is alleged that the paraprofessional gave Arnold the child’s information and had a three-way text messaging group with the two.
With permission of the child’s parents, law enforcement took the phone for a forensic examination. Law enforcement states the phone revealed the conversations between the three, provocative images sent by the child, and Arnold suggesting they meet. A separate conversation between the child and Arnold was found where they both suggested they meet.
Arnold is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing at the Ozark County Courthouse in Gainesville on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, at 1:30 p.m.
According to online court documents, a charge of endangering the welfare of a child was held against the paraprofessional but appears to have been dropped.
