A Platte City man who pleaded guilty to statutory sodomy received 30 years behind bars last week.
Brandon Vanmeter, 32, was charged with felony statutory sodomy in October 2017, for molesting a girl less than 12 years of age. He was held on $150,000 cash-only bond at the Platte County Detention Center. A jury trial was scheduled for May 2019, but later cancelled and in November 2019 Vanmeter pleaded guilty.
Vanmeter
On Thursday, Jan. 9, Platte County Circuit Court judge James Van Amburg sentenced Vanmeter to 30 years as part of the plea agreement.
According to court documents, Platte City police received a child abuse report in October 2017. A girl reported she and Vanmeter had been naked and he had behaved inappropriately. During an interview with Synergy Services, the victim said Vanmeter violated her “privacy,” and was able to describe Vanmeter’s body in detail.
During an interview with police, Vanmeter denied any sexual contact, though he said he had possibly been naked in front of her. Later, he said the girl may have crawled into bed with he and his girlfriend while they were naked. After he was presented with the girl’s testimony, Vanmeter asked for an attorney and was charged shortly after.
A press release issued by Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd stated Vanmeter had molested the girl since she was two years old. She reported the abuse at the age of eight, after participating in a “bad touch” presentation at school.
“Words cannot adequately convey the horrific crimes this man inflicted on this young child,” Zahnd said. “This defendant received a 30-year sentence, but he imposed a life sentence on his victim.”
Prosecutors recommended that Vanmeter receive the 30-year prison term, while Vanmeter’s criminal defense attorney asked that Vanmeter receive a 10-year sentence. Vanmeter must serve 25 and one-half years of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.
“No number of years behind bars can adequately address what this defendant did,” Zahnd said. “However, Judge Van Amburg’s sentence appropriately recognizes the terrible toll these crimes take on children.”