Child molestation charge filed against Bakersfield man involving 13-year-old girl

Robert Hodgson Jr., 28, of Bakersfield, is being held in the Ozark County Jail without bond in a case in which he’s charged with child molestation.

The charge is elevated to an aggravated felony due to his relationship to the victim. He now faces  a class A felony, the highest level of charge in Missouri and carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life in prison and lifetime supervision as a registered sex offender, if a defendant is found guilty or convicted of that level of charge. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Sgt. Seth Miller, on July 29, he received a report from the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division of a possible molestation case. The report included an interview with a young teen. 

Hodgson is alleged to have inappropriately touched the girl several times over her clothing in intimate areas between Feb. 17, 2022, to Jan. 31, 2024, when she was 13 to 14 years old.

On July 30, Miller went to Hodgson’s home in Bakersfield and asked him to accompany him back to the sheriff’s department for questioning. 

At the OCSD, he was read his Miranda rights and asked if he wanted to speak with the officer. He reportedly said he understood his rights and wanted to proceed with the conversation with the officer. 

Miller asked the suspect if he had touched the girl inappropriately over her clothing in those areas, and he reportedly said he had touched her in that manner several times, the report says. 

Hodgson is scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, for a bond reduction hearing before Associate Judge Raymond Gross.