Trooper cleared of rape, faces job hearing

MARSHFIELD, Mo. -- A Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant recently acquitted of raping an 11-year-old girl in 1989 now faces a hearing to determine whether he should return to work.

Sgt. David Callaway, a 16-year veteran with the patrol, said the hearing is more about his independence than his job.

"I still believe the Highway Patrol is a good organization in its entirety," Callaway said. "But whether or not I could actually go back and function, if I'll be allowed to do that, that remains to be seen.

"The first thing I want is the option. I want to make my own choice about my future and not have it dictated to me for something I didn't do."

Callaway was found innocent on Feb. 15 by a Dade County jury on four counts of sexual abuse, including a charge of rape, that stemmed from an incident prosecutors said happened more than 12 years ago.

Prosecutors claimed Callaway had abused the girl while teaching her to swim at a Stockton Lake campground in southwest Missouri. The alleged victim, who is now 23, has said that she waited so long to come forward because of emotional distress.

Callaway, 41, of Marshfield has been cleared of any wrongdoing, but he must remain on unpaid administrative leave until he appears in March in Jefferson City for a hearing that will determine his future as a sergeant and a pilot with the patrol.

Board will hear testimony

A board composed of a patrol captain and six sergeants will hear testimony and consider evidence presented by patrol investigators and Callaway's defense attorneys, said Capt. Chris Ricks, spokesman for the patrol.

The board can recommend reinstatement, suspension or termination, Ricks said.

Callaway's defense attorney, Dee Wampler, said the hearing is inappropriate after the jury's decision.

"I think it's a continued waste of taxpayer dollars to have this administrative hearing," Wampler said. "He should be reinstated. Now that he has been acquitted and the charges have been taken away, he needs to get his job back."

Wampler said he is arranging depositions for the administrative hearing and has priced what it would cost to buy a transcript of the criminal trial: $2,500 for a rush delivery.

"It's a tremendous financial burden," Wampler said.

But freedom is worth the money, Callaway said, adding that the worst is behind him.

"It's not quite over yet, but the worst of it's over," he said. "From here on out, we're talking about my career instead of my life."