Kevin Long (Greene County Jail)
A 40-year-old US Army Staff Sergeant is accused of killing a 2-year-old child and beating the little girl to death at an illegal daycare center run by his wife at their home on a Missouri military installation. A federal grand jury returned a genuine bill last week indicting Staff Sgt. Kevin Long on one count of first degree murder and one count of misrepresentation or misrepresentation of a matter within the jurisdiction of a federal agency in connection with the child’s murder, court documents reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The two-count indictment was originally filed on Tuesday, June 27 and released on Friday, June 30 after Long’s arrest and first appearance before a judge in U.S. District Court for the Western District. from Missouri.
According to a copy of the probable cause indictment, on November 6, 2019, Long willfully “unlawfully killed Jane Doe by physically assaulting Jane Doe in a blunt manner, in the commission of child abuse, or part of a pattern and practice of child molestation.The alleged fatal assault allegedly took place at Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Missouri.
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri said that on the day the victim was killed, she was in the care of Long and his wife, who allegedly ran an illegal daycare center out of their – basic house. It’s unclear whether Long’s wife faces charges for allegedly running the daycare.
The child’s death is believed to have taken place within the confines of Fort Leonard Wood, meaning the crime falls under the “special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States”, which is why the case is being prosecuted in court federal. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that a murder committed as part of the commission of child abuse constitutes “first degree murder.”
The second charge stems from Long allegedly lying to federal investigators investigating the circumstances of the toddler’s death.
The indictment states that Long on November 22, 2019, “willfully and knowingly made a materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statement and representation” when he allegedly told investigators “that he was unaware U.S. Army regulations that restricted the operation of a day care center at Fort Leonard Wood.
“The statement and representation were false because, as Kevin Long knew then and there, United States Army regulations restricted the operation of a day care center at Fort Leonard Wood,” the indictment states.
The case was being investigated by the U.S. Army – Criminal Investigative Division, St. Robert, Missouri, Police Department and the Missouri Department of Social Services, prosecutors said. He will now be prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and Shannon T. Kempf.
Long has remained in custody since his initial arrest and is due in court on July 6. He is represented in this case by Deputy Federal Public Defender Brian D. Risley. The Public Defender’s Office did not immediately respond to a message from Law&Crime seeking comment on the case.
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