A Phelps County probation officer was arrested Friday afternoon near his home in Newburg in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault made by a probationer.
Charges filed by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office against Leon McLaughlin, 61, included sexual contact with a prisoner or offender and deviate sexual assault in the first-degree.
According to the probable cause statement filed with the court, the alleged victim, a 37-year-old Rolla woman, reported the alleged crimes to law enforcement officers on Aug. 9. She stated that while visiting McLaughlin at his home in Newburg on July 1 she was sexually assaulted by him and she “wrestled” to get away.
In a subsequent interview with investigators on the same day, McLaughlin stated that, although he did make physical contact with the alleged victim, he was never told by her to stop, according to information contained in the court document.
McLaughlin, employed by the Missouri DOC’s Division of Probation and Parole since 1996, was an officer at the time of the alleged assault. However, according to Missouri Department of Corrections Chief Public Information Officer Jacqueline Lapine, McLaughlin was not the alleged victim’s probation officer.
When asked whether McLaughlin was still employed, had resigned or was terminated by the Missouri DOC, Lapine declined to comment, other than to say, “Typically, if there is a pending investigation of any employee of the department, they are placed on administrative leave.”
