Charged in December 2018, a 56-year-old La Monte man, who was facing sex-related felony charges involving a juvenile in Marshall, changed his plea last month and has been sentenced to spend the next several years in state prison.
A probable-cause statement says a juvenile female told authorities that Tommy Joe Hotsenpiller inappropriately touched her in the parking lot of Marshall High School on the night of November 30, 2018. Hotsenpiller was a teacher in the Marshall Public School system who was terminated in October 2018 and was trespassing during the incident.
According to online court documents, during a hearing on September 9, Hotsenpiller withdrew his original not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to a Class D Felony for Statutory Sodomy in the Second Degree; a Class E Felony for Sexual Contact with a Student; and a misdemeanor for trespassing.
On Monday, October 28, Hotsenpiller was sentenced to seven years on count one; four years on count two; and 90 days on count three. All of the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
Hotsenpiller was remanded to the custody of the Saline County Sheriff’s Department for delivery to the Missouri Department of Corrections.