Two men convicted in separate child abuse cases

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Two St. Charles County men, accused in separate cases of sexual abuse involving their own children, have appeared before a judge, with one pleading guilty and the second being found guilty.

The identities of the men have been withheld to protect the identity of the children.

Prosecutors accused a 33-year-old St. Peters man of forcing his teenage son and daughter to have sex while he watched.

After originally facing 27 counts, including statutory rape, incest and use of a child in a sexual performance, the man pleaded guilty Wednesday to eight felony counts.

Under the plea's terms, Circuit Judge Lucy Rauch sentenced the man to 20 years in prison.

Rauch found the second man, a 38-year-old from St. Charles County, guilty on Wednesday of 12 felony counts relating to a hour-long videotape he made of himself performing sex acts with his 11-year-old daughter.

He could face life in prison when Rauch sentences him Dec. 4.

In the first case, investigators said the father had abused his children, a boy, now 14, and a girl, now 12, several times a week for years.

His daughter told police the only time they got a break was the few days after their mother died of cancer. The children and their four younger siblings now live with relatives in another state.

Prosecutor Ross Buehler said the plea agreement was offered to keep the teenagers from having to relive the incidents at a trial.

"The court has seen some horrible cases," Buehler said.

"I think the magnitude of the offense is as horrible as can be."

The second case surfaced in April, after the 11-year-old's grandmother found the videotape, which the man told police had been made a couple of weeks earlier, according to testimony.

The man, who told police he was high on LSD and marijuana when he made the tape, blew marijuana smoke into his daughter's mouth as he kissed her on the tape.

His daughter, now 12 and undergoing counseling, has told investigators she does not remember the incidents.