A Greene County judge ordered a Springfield man to serve a total of 24 years in prison for two convictions of sex crimes against a child less than 12 years of age.
Ryan S. Cogswell, 40, will serve a pair of 12-year sentences for first-degree statutory sodomy, and has been ordered to serve them consecutively. Greene County Circuit Judge Todd Myers handed down the sentences on July 8.
Myers weighed defense attorney David Back’s argument that Cogswell should be placed on probation against Greene County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Chris Lebeck’s arguments against probation.
Cogswell avoided trial and entered a guilty plea on his two charges on Jan. 16. Cogswell made an open plea with the acknowledgement that any sentences he received would run consecutive to each other at that time.
A Springfield police detective questioned Cogswell in August of 2023. A probable cause statement offers details of “more than 100 times” Cogswell reportedly touched the child victim and instructed the child to touch him.
“Cogswell stated he was in the United States military and did not understand that his actions were illegal,” a Springfield police detective wrote in the probable cause statement.
Cogswell has been in the Greene County Jail in Springfield since Aug. 8, 2023. He will be moved to a Missouri Department of Corrections prison.
Under Missouri law, first-degree statutory sodomy of a victim less than 12 years of age is an unclassified felony. It is punishable by a minimum of five years in prison and can carry a life sentence upon conviction.
Springfield police began investigating Cogswell on July 19, 2023. Prosecutors charged him for events that occurred over a one-year span from July 2022 to July 2023, according to the amended felony complaints filed against Cogswell.
