Charges amended against Grand Valley leaders

The McDonald County prosecuting attorney's office amended charges against Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church leaders Paul and Tom Epling Friday...and may end up having to drop them altogether, according to an article by Jeff Lehr in today's Joplin Globe:

Assistant Prosecutor Dan Bagley filed amended charges against Paul S. Epling, 53, and Tom Epling, 51, due to a statute of limitations that was in effect at the time of some of their alleged offenses with underage girls who belonged to the church near Powell in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Bagley said a Missouri Supreme Court decision, expected to be handed down sometime within the next two months in a separate criminal case, could sway whether the Eplings can be charged with any offense at all.