Rep. Rick Roeber, R-Lee s Summit / File Photo Rep. Rick Roeber is accused of sexually abusing two of his children in 1990, when they were 9 and 5, and physically abusing two others.
Rep. Rick Roeber would be only the second lawmaker ever expelled from the House
The Missouri House Ethics Committee voted unanimously on Monday to recommend Rep. Rick Roeber be expelled from the Legislature.
The committee, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, said evidence obtained over the course of its four-month investigation confirmed Roeber had sexually abused two of his children in 1990, when they were 9 and 5, and physically abused two others.
The allegations of sexual abuse first became public in late September, weeks before he was elected to the Missouri House.
The Kansas City Star reported that Roeber’s adopted daughter, Anastasia, said he made improper sexual advances toward her in 1990, when she was 9 years old.
She testified under oath to the committee that she felt she was “groomed by (Roeber) from a very young age… When we would ride in the car, he’d have his hand on my upper thigh just kind of rubbing it.”
She said he once took her hand and placed it on his genitals, “and I didn’t know what to do. I just froze there. I was 9.”
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. â A Missouri House committee has recommended Leeâs Summit Rep. Rick Roeber be expelled from office after finding that he sexually and physically abused his now-adult children when they were young.
In the House Ethics Committeeâs report released late Monday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers deemed the freshman Republicanâs accusers â including his ex-wife and three of his four children â credible. They testified he had committed acts that under Missouri law would constitute âsexual contactâ or âdeviate sexual intercourse,â according to the report.
The committee also found accusations of physical abuse by Roeber, including beatings and an incident that left one child with a scarred eyelid. The evidence in the case, which included testimony from five witnesses, was âclear and convincing,â the committee said.
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