Judge orders man to stand trial on sodomy charge

December 04, 2008 10:34 pm

— By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com
A Joplin man was ordered to stand trial on a single count of second-degree statutory sodomy after a preliminary hearing Thursday in Jasper County Circuit Court.
Francis Lee McDaniel, 38, is accused of attempting to force himself on a 16-year-old boy.
The Neosho boy testified that he and two others were invited by McDaniel to his home in Joplin after an Independence Day party.
The teen testified that McDaniel followed him into a bathroom in the home and attempted to perform oral sex on him. The boy said he pushed McDaniel off him and returned to the living room “flustered.”
“I was pretty shaken up,” he told the court.
He said he remained at the house for about 15 minutes, before borrowing McDaniel’s cell phone to call his mother and have her pick him up. He said he later left the home and walked to a gas station, where he called his mother again from a pay phone.
The teen reported the incident to Joplin police.
McDaniel’s attorney, Brad Barton, cross-examined the teen about why he chose not to leave the home immediately after the alleged incident.
The boy said he did not have a cell phone on him at the time, and that he was not familiar enough with the neighborhood to know where else he might go.

Appearance date
Associate Judge Richard Copeland ordered Francis McDaniel to make an initial appearance Dec. 22 in a trial division of the court.