Foster parent charged with assaulting four children

LIBERTY, Mo. -- A foster parent has been charged with physically and sexually assaulting four siblings in his care.

Clay County prosecutors charged Jacob T. Sipes, 45, of Claycomo, on Friday with three counts of first-degree statutory sodomy, three counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of child abuse. Bond has been set at $250,000.

Claycomo deputy chief Troy Kasselman said Saturday that the Missouri Division of Family Services removed the four alleged victims, who ranged in age from 4 to 10, and the children's two younger siblings in April from the three-bedroom mobile home Sipes shared with his wife. The children were placed with two different foster families.

The agency had decided to remove the children from the Sipes' home and conduct what it called a "licensing review" after receiving a call from a person who was concerned about the Sipes' ability to serve as foster parents, Kasselman said.

Kasselman said police became involved in August after one of the girls told her new foster mother that the children had been abused while living in the Sipes household.

Authorities think Sipes assaulted the foster children between November 2001 and April 2003. The Sipes began caring for three of the children in November 2001 and two others in January 2002. The youngest child, now a toddler, joined the Sipes after his birth in prison.

According to court records, one of the victims told Sipes' wife that she had been abused. The woman told the girl that she would have to report the assaults to authorities. She also told her that social workers would remove the children from the home and place them in separate foster homes.

The girl then recanted the story. Sipes' wife never reported the assaults to a caseworker, according to the records.

Other assaults occurred on separate occasions with the other foster children, according to court records.

In one incident, one of the girls said she saw Sipes pick up one of the boys and throw him to the floor three to four times. The girl said she saw the boy's eyes roll back in his head.

Kasselman said the 4-year-old had a speech impediment and told authorities Sipes punished him when he mispronounced a word.

Kasselman said the investigation also revealed Sipes had a past auto theft conviction.