Jury finds defendant guilty of child sex crimes

JOPLIN, Mo. – Following a two-day trial, a jury in Jasper County found 67-year-old Jack Hooker guilty of several child sex crimes.

Guilty verdicts were returned for three counts of 1st-degree statutory sodomy, along with a single count each of first-degree statutory rape and second-degree statutory rape.

The victim in the case said she was  under age 12 when the sexual abuse began in 2011.

She said she was sexually assaulted repeatedly in Joplin and Webb City between 2011 and 2021.

The court has set a May 1st sentencing date. The Jury recommended a sentence of between 100 years to life in prison for Hooker.