Webb City man draws probation for child abuse

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January 10, 2013

Webb City man draws probation for child abuse

Globe Staff Writer The Joplin Globe Thu Jan 10, 2013, 12:28 AM CST

A Webb City man pleaded guilty to three felony counts of child abuse in a deal that granted him suspended sentences.

Teddy L. Grabenauer, 38, entered the pleas at a hearing this week in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin.

Circuit Judge Gayle Crane accepted the plea agreement and assessed the defendant seven years on each count, with execution of the sentences suspended and the defendant placed on probation for five years. The judge also ordered that Grabenauer complete anger-management counseling.

The charges were filed in March 2010 after an investigation by Webb City police and the Missouri Department of Social Services.

According to a probable-cause affidavit, the defendant beat and choked three boys between the ages of 6 and 10 on several occasions in 2009 and 2010 while he was in a relationship with their mother. The abuse included hitting them in the face with a fist, choking them to the point that they passed out and kicking them in the groin, the affidavit states.

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