Manhunt: County Official Sought on Child Sex Charges
July-20-07
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John Dunivan |
Missouri State Police have launched a statewide manhunt for former Butler County Missouri Clerk John Dunivan, 60, who disappeared after being accused of sexually abusing two children who are under 12 years of age.
The 60-year-old former clerk allegedly sodomized an 11-year-old girl several times in Ripley County and had sexual contact with a 12-year-old in a separate incident, according to a felony complaint filed July 12 by Ripley County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Miller.
Dunivan, 60, of Poplar Bluff, is accused of having “deviate sexual intercourse with a child" in Poplar Bluff, Ripley County, and in a motel in Jefferson City. .Associate Circuit Judge Thomas D. Swindle set Dunivan’s bond at $100,000 on first degree sexual sodomy charges and issued the warrant for his arrest. But Dunivan dissapeared.
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As of Monday, investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol have searched different residences and cabins in both Ripley and Butler County but have not found the fugitive clerk.
Dunivan served as the Butler County Clerk for twenty years before retiring last year.
Dunivan was last seen July 11 driving a red, 2000 Toyota Tacoma with a camper shell. The vehicle has Missouri license plates numbered 241-NN4. State police warn that Dunivan may be armed.
Dunivan's wife, Caroline, told KSVS Heartland News Tuesday that she wants people to remember the two little girls her husband allegedly abused.
She wants Dunivan to know he's hurting the family, by not turning himself in.
She worries people will forget about the victims, because her husband was the County Clerk for 20 years; an elected official, who people respected very much, according to the KSVS report.
If convicted of the sodomy charge, the former public official faces 10
years to life in prison.
Anyone with information regarding Dunivan’s whereabouts is asked to contact
Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E Headquarters at (573) 840-9500.
For latest update on this please see Former Butler County Clerk Now a Federal Fugitive