Advance man charged with alleged sex crimes; warrant served

An Advance, Missouri, man was booked into Cape Girardeau County jail Thursday, Dec. 21, on child sex charges and other alleged crimes stemming from allegations from June 2022.

Joshua Michael Leggett, 38, had been previously serving time in the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific, Missouri, for other charges. A warrant for him to appear in court was served Thursday.

Leggett was charged in Cape Girardeau County on multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor that were allegedly recorded on video. He was also charged with a Class D felony of unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors also filed two misdemeanor charges for invasion of privacy from incidents in which Leggett is accused of videotaping a person in a state of full or partial nudity without consent.

According to a probable-cause statement signed by Robert Jenkins, the detective was contacted by the Scott County Sheriff's Office regarding information about a possible stolen firearm. During the investigation of the stolen firearm, Jenkins recovered several weapons that were previously in Leggett's possession, according to the probable-cause document. The detective also recovered what was described as "video storage cards" in Leggett's closet, the detective's statement said. The content of the video cards "shows Leggett strategically placing a camera in the bathroom of the residence". One victim could be seen undressing, showering and redressing, the document said. The video also contained sexual material involving a person not immediately identified in the probable-cause statement.

The initials of the victim listed in a court filing for the misdemeanors were different from the initials listed for the charges involving the minor.

Leggett has a criminal history that includes several drug charges and a resisting/interfering with a felony arrest and the assault of a police officer from June 2022. The amended complaint against Leggett shows him to have an Advance address, but in previous criminal cases, Delta addresses were listed.

Tabatha Blakely is the assistant prosecuting attorney handling the case. Kathryn New and Patrick Carosello are listed as defense attorneys.