St. Joseph man receives multiple life charges for child sexual abuse

By: Noel Hardin

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) — A St. Joseph man has been sentenced to multiple life charges for child sexual abuse.

Johnathan Edward Sears, 33, received four concurrent life sentences plus an additional 10 years from Buchanan County Circuit Judge Terry White on January 26.

The sentencing comes just over a month after a jury found Sears guilty on six felony charges following a three-day trial in December.

The convictions included one count of first-degree rape and three counts of first-degree sodomy of a child under 12, as well as two counts of second-degree child molestation.

The crimes occurred over a 13-month period between January 2022 and February 2023.

Sears was arrested on a warrant in March 2023 and has been held without bond since pleading not guilty.

Prior to his trial, the case was suspended for more than three months for a mental evaluation after his court-appointed attorney questioned his competency.

He was later found fit to stand trial.

Before the sentencing, Sears’s motion for a new trial was denied by the court on January 12.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Monica Morrey and Kristina Zeit.

Sears will now serve his sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections.