A former Sweet Springs resident will spend the next 30 years in state prison after pleading guilty to three of the sexual assault charges he was facing.

41-year-old Gary Anthony Cooper admitted in Saline County Circuit Court on Monday, May 11 to two counts of statutory sodomy and one count of attempted statutory rape. He had been facing 20 charges after an investigation into allegations that he had repeatedly and inappropriately touched a minor victim who was also his stepdaughter. Court filings alleged that Cooper began sodomizing the victim in April 2013 when the family resided in Emma. The victim told authorities that the inappropriate contact continued when the family moved to Sweet Springs in 2017.

Cooper was sentenced to ten years for each of the three counts and will serve the sentences consecutively.

The Missouri Department of Social Services maintains a Child Abuse and Neglect hotline for the public to call if they suspect a child is experiencing abuse. The toll-free hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-392-3738. Additional resources are available on the Department of Social Services website.