ACCUSED KIDNAPPER PLEADS INSANITY

JACKSON, Mo. -- Samuel Joseph Farrow Jr. of Jackson pleaded innocent Monday to charges of kidnapping and sexually abusing two young girls.

Defense attorney Albert Lowes entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect on behalf of his client.

Farrow, 23, is charged with 16 felonies involving abductions of a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl in November and July last year. He is alleged to have kidnapped both girls, who are not related, from the same mobile home in Scott City, Mo.

Investigators have said the two girls were abducted through the same bedroom window.

Thirteen of the 16 charges against Farrow carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Farrow completed a mental evaluation through the Missouri Department of Mental Health at the request of Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle. He then had mental evaluations performed by a Kansas City psychiatrist hired by the defense.

Both examinations were to determine whether Farrow can assist in his own defense in court and whether he was mentally fit at the time of the crimes.

Farrow's next appearance in court is scheduled for Oct. 1. He remains in Cape Girardeau County jail in lieu of $1 million bond.