West Plains, MO. – A Willow Springs man was arrested on August 26 for multiple felonies involving the abuse of his adopted autistic daughter. Kevin Todd Mersman, age 44 of Willow Springs, is facing four counts of Abuse or Neglect of a Child – No Sexual Contact, four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, three counts of 1st Degree Assault, and one count of 3rd Degree Domestic Assault.
The charges stem from a baby sitter calling authorities after noticing bruising on the 6-year old autistic child after the girl and another child were placed in the baby sitters’ care following an incident where Mersman’s six year old son had been bitten by a dog in the groin and had to be airlifted to St. Louis.
According to the probable cause statement, the girl admitted to the emergency child advocacy forensic interview that Mersman had slapped her multiple times and would lift the child by her neck into the air. The girl had multiple bruises on her back as well from where she admitted that Mersman would kick her. The girl was bruised on her face, neck, and arms as well.
Following the arrest of Mersman, he admitted to hitting the child and he knew he had “abused” her. He stated in the probable cause statement that she is autistic and he has had no training on how to deal with an autistic child.
Mersman was arrested and charged on August 27, 2022. He was released on $50,000 surety bond on August 29 and will be in court on Monday, September 12.
