Misdemeanor charge filed against former Neosho police officer

The Missouri Attorney General's office filed misdemeanor charges of endangering a child in the second degree against a former Neosho police officer who allegedly provided alcohol to a teenager who died in an auto accident on Dec. 21, 2006.

According to the news release from the attorney general:

Neosho, Mo. — Former Neosho police officer Justin Keith Pickup was charged today with endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree by supplying alcohol to a 16-year-old girl. The girl, Kassie Schenck, died of injuries from a motor vehicle crash that occurred on the day after Pickup (DOB – 8/24/83) allegedly purchased a pint bottle of vodka and gave it to her. According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the charge in Newton County Circuit Court, Schenck’s blood alcohol content level was .12 after the crash in the early morning hours of Dec. 21, 2006.

The charge was filed by the office of Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, which was appointed by the court to determine if charges should be filed and to prosecute any ensuing charges. The Prosecuting Attorney of Newton County recused himself from the matter because of a conflict of interest.

Endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The charge against Pickup is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.