MISSOURI
Boonville Daily News
By Edward Lang, Managing Editor
Posted Jun. 18, 2014
Boonville
Gerald Howard plead guilty to three of the six current counts of forcible or attempted forcible sodomy against him Tuesday afternoon at the Cooper County Courthouse.
Howard was being held for charges of sexual misconduct against minors during the early to mid-1980s at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Boonville. Before coming to Boonville, he had already been in trouble for this sort of crime in Jersey City, New Jersey; therefore causing him to change his name from Carmine Sita to Gerald Howard.
During the hearing yesterday, Howard was asked repeatedly by Honorable Judge Robert Koffman if he understood the plea he was presenting to the court. He repeatedly said he did. The guilty plea was entered for counts one (forcible sodomy), five (forcible sodomy) and six (attempted forcible sodomy). Cooper County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Abele agreed to the plea. The motion was granted to dismiss all other charges.
Howard also waived his right to a trial and appeal with this plea, which he told Koffman, he understood.
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