Gasconade County Republican

A former Wisconsin resident who lived in the county for years under the alias Gary Thompson was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for sex crimes committed in 2009 against his girlfriend’s then 14-year-old daughter.

In March of 2011, Gasconade County Sheriff’s detectives began investigating allegations of child sexual abuse near the Owensville area. A then 15-year-old female had alleged her mother’s live-in boyfriend, Gerald L. Kaminski, now 63, had sexual contact with her at their residence in late 2009. The victim was nearing her 14th birthday at the onset of abuse, according to the sheriff’s department.

According to a report issued Tuesday by Sheriff Randy Esphorst, the victim underwent a forensic examination at the Children’s Advocacy Center of East Central Missouri where statements were made implicating Kaminski in a crime. Kaminski was arrested on March 8, 2011, after undergoing extensive questioning by Gasconade County detectives.

He was charged with child molestation in the first degree (a class B felony), forcible sodomy (an unclassified felony) and statutory rape in the second degree (a class C felony). Kaminski remained incarcerated on a $75,000 bond issues by the Associate Circuit Judge John B. Berkemeyer. Berkemeyer later ordered a bond reduction at Kaminski’s request. Kaminski also requested, and was granted, a change of venue to Franklin County.

On Jan. 30, Kaminski pleaded guilty to statutory rape in the second degree and was sentenced Circuit Judge Ike Lamke to serve seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Kaminski was also ordered to pay court costs and fines into the Crime Victims Compensation Fund. He was represented in the case by the public defender’s office.

Through the course of the investigation, Esphorst’s report noted, it was discovered that Kaminski was a fugitive from Wisconsin for nearly five years, but they would not extradite him on their charges. Kaminski had assumed the identity of “Gary Thompson” while residing in the Gasconade County area.

In other Circuit Court news, Danny L. Stradford pleaded guilty on Jan. 25 to one count of second degree assault and one count of armed criminal action in the Aug. 21, 2010, stabbing of Ronald W. Wyrick. The two had quarrelled over paying for food at a local restaurant. Stradford stabbed Wyrick  repeatedly in the upper torso from his seat in the rear of a mini-van as they traveled across town with a female friend to a residence on Memorial Drive.

The investigation was handled by the Owensville Police Department. Stradford was captured that night by members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol a few blocks from the residence.

Stradford had been scheduled for a jury trial last Wednesday but the county prosecutor was notified Jan. 23 that he would plead guilty.

Stradford, a habitual criminal with a variety of convictions from stealing to assaults dating back to 1986, was sentenced to seven years in prison for the assault and a concurrent term of three years for the armed criminal action. He used a folding pocket knife with a 4-inch long blade to stab Wyrick who would require three units of blood to make his recovery.

Lamke accepted the plea during proceedings held in Osage County on a change of venue.

Warrants sought in local “scrapping” case

Esphorst issued a statement Tuesday saying warrants were being sought against five adults and two juveniles from Union for thefts of scrap metal and auto parts. See our website for a complete report.